Day 244 of Lockdown/Corona Virus Diaries
Nov. 17th, 2020 07:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatGloomy day that cleared up to become a frigid one. Although not that frigid, but cold enough for a jacket and a hat...and now I'm wearing my sweat pants, which I bought from Lands End.
Oh, just when I was debating whether to cancel my HBO subscription to get HBO Max - Amazon Prime informed me that since I had subscribed to it under Amazon Prime, I would get HBO MAX free of charge. The Universe decided to give me an early Christmas gift - or maybe it's just telling me that it is okay to binge-watch television shows, write, read, and walk around my neighborhood during the holiday season?
On the reading front? I'm just reading X-men X of Swords comics at the moment. While the plot admittedly makes no sense (it rarely does in X-men comics - one does not read superhero comics for plot any more than one watches daytime soaps for plot), there's some excellent character bits and some great world-building, and art. I really like the art in some of the issues. It's a mixed bag of course - but for the most part rather well done.
And the characters - they are examining characters that are rarely examined.
Apocalypse of all people - has depth. And Cypher - gets a psychological analysis and a story arc. I always found Cypher to the most interesting and most underrated of the New Mutants. To get a bit more story on characters that were for the most part sidelined during the last ten years, is rather nice for a change of pace.
Also doing the audio books - Jim Butcher's Dresden Files, and Illona Andrews.
Here's a picture of the tree with the bird's nest outside my home office/living room window. I've been watching the little sparrows all summer long, but until they started flying into my window on occasion - I didn't realize they had a bird's nest.
In hunting the pic, I almost fell down the rabbit hole on FB. FB finally decided the election was over, we won, and we could go back to posting funny stories and jokes, intermixed with pleas to help with the election in Georgia and COVID.
Speaking of COVID, it's time for our continuing coverage of New York vs. the Corona Virus
The latest? There's been a slight set-back. The infection rate rose above 3% finally - which most likely will close schools again. Although, I agree with the European model - which is close the restaurants, salons, gyms and bars, leave the schools open. NY, of course, is doing the exact opposite - mainly because it figures schools will survive - restaurants won't. I disagree.
But I'm guessing they'll have to figure this out on their own, won't they?
"Devastating long-term effects for some people. Known as "long-haulers," these individuals struggle with symptoms that last for months after catching COVID. One of the most concerning symptoms is chronic fatigue, which can make it difficult to even do simple daily tasks. It's important that we all take COVID seriously. Even if you're younger or in good health. Wear a mask, social distance, avoid gatherings—and together let's work to stop the spread." - [This is true. I personally know of at least three. With varying symptoms. All were in great health prior, highly active with no pre-existing ailments. Now? They all three have serious heart conditions. Inflammation on the heart. Chronic Fatigue. Depression. Blood clots. And are on special diets. These are people that were active. Two are in their 30s with small children. One is in her sixities. They are all women. Not only that but a co-worker lost her father in-law to a heart attack brought on by complications due to COVID-19. The heart attack was six months after a mild-moderated case of COVID. It's NOT the flu. And yes, you can get it more than once - there's no immunity - I know of someone who caught it twice - Emma Samms, an actress in Britain.]
"New York continues to lead the nation in testing and to date we have conducted over 17 million tests." [Sigh. NY likes to brag. I wish it didn't. But it does. Why it can't just say - "We conducted over 17 million tests" - I don't know. It's not a bloody competitive sport.]
"Here's what else you need to know tonight:
1. The statewide positivity rate rose above 3 percent. In the micro-cluster focus areas, the positivity rate was 4.89 percent. Excluding these areas, it was 2.82 percent. Of the 159,852 tests reported yesterday, 5,088, or 3.18 percent, were positive. Total hospitalizations rose to 2,124. Sadly, we lost 29 New Yorkers to the virus." [I'm more concerned about the hospitalizations - the reason is that if they go to high, people who need to be treated for other things - serious/life-threatening ailments, won't be treated. Grey's Anatomy actually did a decent job of showing that last week. There are people who died of heart attacks, burst appendix, infected wounds, etc - that didn't have to, because the hospitals were filled to capacity in the spring.]
2. "New Yorkers can now take free online courses through Coursera. In partnership with Coursera, we launched a free online platform for New Yorkers to learn new job skills, earn certificates and advance their careers. At a time when unemployment has risen due to the pandemic, we hope these online courses will help New Yorkers get back on their feet. So, whether you're unemployed, underemployed, or are simply interested in learning new skills, check it out and sign up. " [Oh, cool. I might check that out. I have free time. I adore learning new things. Once I audited a couple of Psychology Courses at the New School. And I did continuing education courses through NYU.]
3. "The iconic Christmas tree arrived in Rockefeller Center. The 75-foot Norway spruce is New York grown—specifically, the tree comes from Oneonta, NY. It will be illuminated on December 2nd, but there will be no public viewing of the tree lighting ceremony because of the pandemic. The tree lighting will instead be broadcast nationally on NBC." [I may try to see it long after it is lit during the season on my own, not sure - it would involve a semi-hazardous trip on subways with maskless wonders. Better to just stay home. Last I heard they were trying to figure out how to do it in such a way to discourage and avoid crowds.]
4. "We can't underestimate the strain of COVID fatigue. Mental health is just as important as physical health. New Yorkers can call the State's mental health hotline at 1-844-863-9314 for free emotional support, consultations & referrals to a provider or visit the Office of Mental Health for resources."[So far, outside of being menopausal, I'm doing okay on this front - helped mightily by the fact that I'm not exactly social to begin with and kind of prefer my own space. Entertaining myself has never been an issue, entertaining other people on the other hand...I honestly think COVID was created to kill extroverts. Introverts or folks who prefer staying home to read a book or watch tv over partying, are fine.]
"Tonight's "Deep Breath Moment": When a group of NYC hospital staff aren't serving on the frontline, they're writing short stories, poems, and other pieces as part of a literary journal. Started in 2000 by six individuals at Bellevue Hospital, the Bellevue Literary Review ties together the medical and literary community. Over the past two decades, the journal has published fiction, nonfiction and poetry about health and healing. This fall, NY actors Erin Cherry and Nkosi Nkululeko held a virtual reading of pieces from the journal as part of a longstanding autumn tradition. Watch the reading here. Thank you to the Bellevue Literary Review's Editor in Chief and frontline hero Danielle Ofri for sharing this with us. "
To date? COVID STATS in NEW YORK.
NY has about 19 million people. It has conducted 17,036,695 tests. [I told you that NY is test happy. If it were up to our Governor, everyone would be tested at least twice a week. This isn't exactly feasible - but he's trying.
In NY you can get tested repeatedly for free. Crazy workplace has all these areas that you can tested and get the flu shot. I already got the flu shot via my doctor. The test sites aren't exactly nearby - the free ones aren't at any rate, and the ones that are close - have hour long lines. There's also the home test kit covered by my insurance. But I've no symptoms and no exposure that I'm aware of. (I don't exactly interact with folks outside of going to and from the grocery store, the cemetery, laundry, and picking up mail. And the contact is minimal at best, and everyone wears masks or is not close.
Considering I didn't get it traveling to and from work, without a mask, in crowds of people in January through the first part of March...
Anyhow, the 17 million is most likely the same people repeatedly. I am willing to bet 95% of it is the same folks.
34,076 people are dead in NY, that's more than any other state at the moment. And the death toll is rising. Every day more people in the state die of the virus. 82,022 allegedly have recovered. I'm guessing both numbers are higher - these are the ones they got from hospitals. NY has 568,778 confirmed cases (I'm guessing more - I know of a few that weren't counted).
Both Texas and California have leaped over NY - with a million each.
I get my numbers from the same source I've been following since January, the COVID MAP OF DOOM.
According to the MAP OF DOOM, the states with the most cases are:
* TEXAS: 1,078,583 confirmed
* California: 1,049,457 confirmed
* Florida : 897,323 confirmed
* Illinois: 597,849 confirmed
* New York: 568,778 confirmed
* Georgia: 430,571 confirmed
* Wisconsin: 342,155 confirmed
On Crazy Company front..
I got an email asking me to volunteer to hand out masks on subways, trains and at stations. Entitled : Mask Up New York Campaign. Tempting, but my blood pressure is still higher than it should be. And I'm trying to get it down, also I've taken reasonable accommodation to remain working remotely from home.
Potential good news... Immunity to the virus (once achieved) may last up to several years
Eight months after infection, most people who have recovered still have enough immune cells to fend off the virus and prevent illness, the new data show. A slow rate of decline in the short term suggests, happily, that these cells may persist in the body for a very, very long time to come.
The research, published online, has not been peer-reviewed nor published in a scientific journal. But it is the most comprehensive and long-ranging study of immune memory to the coronavirus to date.
“That amount of memory would likely prevent the vast majority of people from getting hospitalized disease, severe disease, for many years,” said Shane Crotty, a virologist at the La Jolla Institute of Immunology who co-led the new study.
The findings are likely to come as a relief to experts worried that immunity to the virus might be short-lived, and that vaccines might have to be administered repeatedly to keep the pandemic under control.
And the research squares with another recent finding: that survivors of SARS, caused by another coronavirus, still carry certain important immune cells 17 years after recovering.
The findings are consistent with encouraging evidence emerging from other labs. Researchers at the University of Washington, led by the immunologist Marion Pepper, had earlier shown that certain “memory” cells that were produced following infection with the coronavirus persist for at least three months in the body.
A study published last week also found that people who have recovered from Covid-19 have powerful and protective killer immune cells even when antibodies are not detectable.
These studies “are all by and large painting the same picture, which is that once you get past those first few critical weeks, the rest of the response looks pretty conventional,” said Deepta Bhattacharya, an immunologist at the University of Arizona.
Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University, said she was not surprised that the body mounts a long-lasting response because “that’s what is supposed to happen.” Still, she was heartened by the research: “This is exciting news.”
I guess only time will tell? I've resigned myself to not seeing family or friends until Spring 2021. And not getting a vaccine until then. Even if there is one tomorrow, as my mother put it, I'm at the bottom of the folks who need to get it. I can work remotely from home and I'm under 60 years of age. Also I live in New York City.
Considering I've yet to get tested, that says something.
Watching this whole thing play out is kind of fascinating from a sci-fi horror novel perspective, and a historical one. People are doing what I predicted and really not, at the same time. Apparently I gave my home state very little credit, I'm relieved to state. I was half-expecting that I'd have to find a way to Escape from New York. Relieved this did not turn out to be the case. I'm weirdly safer here than elsewhere. Who'd have thunk it?
I honestly did not think New York would handle a lock-down well - surprise, surprise it did. Better than most of the country actually. New Yorkers continue to amaze me. On the other end - our Federal Government unfortunately lived down to expectations. And the science community kind of missed the boat. That said, they are working rather hard to redeem themselves with not one but two vaccines in development.
I don't know about anyone else but, I am having nightmares. Last night I had the dreaded waking nightmare - where you wake up into another nightmare and can't get out of it. It was a loop - where I was trying to get somewhere - I'm thinking work, but I forgot my mask, and couldn't find one, and kept trying to use other things - and other people weren't wearing masks either, some were, some weren't...and I got lost and had nowhere to sleep, and it was cold. (Possibly because it was cold in my apartment.)
Oh, just when I was debating whether to cancel my HBO subscription to get HBO Max - Amazon Prime informed me that since I had subscribed to it under Amazon Prime, I would get HBO MAX free of charge. The Universe decided to give me an early Christmas gift - or maybe it's just telling me that it is okay to binge-watch television shows, write, read, and walk around my neighborhood during the holiday season?
On the reading front? I'm just reading X-men X of Swords comics at the moment. While the plot admittedly makes no sense (it rarely does in X-men comics - one does not read superhero comics for plot any more than one watches daytime soaps for plot), there's some excellent character bits and some great world-building, and art. I really like the art in some of the issues. It's a mixed bag of course - but for the most part rather well done.
And the characters - they are examining characters that are rarely examined.
Apocalypse of all people - has depth. And Cypher - gets a psychological analysis and a story arc. I always found Cypher to the most interesting and most underrated of the New Mutants. To get a bit more story on characters that were for the most part sidelined during the last ten years, is rather nice for a change of pace.
Also doing the audio books - Jim Butcher's Dresden Files, and Illona Andrews.
Here's a picture of the tree with the bird's nest outside my home office/living room window. I've been watching the little sparrows all summer long, but until they started flying into my window on occasion - I didn't realize they had a bird's nest.
In hunting the pic, I almost fell down the rabbit hole on FB. FB finally decided the election was over, we won, and we could go back to posting funny stories and jokes, intermixed with pleas to help with the election in Georgia and COVID.
Speaking of COVID, it's time for our continuing coverage of New York vs. the Corona Virus
The latest? There's been a slight set-back. The infection rate rose above 3% finally - which most likely will close schools again. Although, I agree with the European model - which is close the restaurants, salons, gyms and bars, leave the schools open. NY, of course, is doing the exact opposite - mainly because it figures schools will survive - restaurants won't. I disagree.
But I'm guessing they'll have to figure this out on their own, won't they?
"Devastating long-term effects for some people. Known as "long-haulers," these individuals struggle with symptoms that last for months after catching COVID. One of the most concerning symptoms is chronic fatigue, which can make it difficult to even do simple daily tasks. It's important that we all take COVID seriously. Even if you're younger or in good health. Wear a mask, social distance, avoid gatherings—and together let's work to stop the spread." - [This is true. I personally know of at least three. With varying symptoms. All were in great health prior, highly active with no pre-existing ailments. Now? They all three have serious heart conditions. Inflammation on the heart. Chronic Fatigue. Depression. Blood clots. And are on special diets. These are people that were active. Two are in their 30s with small children. One is in her sixities. They are all women. Not only that but a co-worker lost her father in-law to a heart attack brought on by complications due to COVID-19. The heart attack was six months after a mild-moderated case of COVID. It's NOT the flu. And yes, you can get it more than once - there's no immunity - I know of someone who caught it twice - Emma Samms, an actress in Britain.]
"New York continues to lead the nation in testing and to date we have conducted over 17 million tests." [Sigh. NY likes to brag. I wish it didn't. But it does. Why it can't just say - "We conducted over 17 million tests" - I don't know. It's not a bloody competitive sport.]
"Here's what else you need to know tonight:
1. The statewide positivity rate rose above 3 percent. In the micro-cluster focus areas, the positivity rate was 4.89 percent. Excluding these areas, it was 2.82 percent. Of the 159,852 tests reported yesterday, 5,088, or 3.18 percent, were positive. Total hospitalizations rose to 2,124. Sadly, we lost 29 New Yorkers to the virus." [I'm more concerned about the hospitalizations - the reason is that if they go to high, people who need to be treated for other things - serious/life-threatening ailments, won't be treated. Grey's Anatomy actually did a decent job of showing that last week. There are people who died of heart attacks, burst appendix, infected wounds, etc - that didn't have to, because the hospitals were filled to capacity in the spring.]
2. "New Yorkers can now take free online courses through Coursera. In partnership with Coursera, we launched a free online platform for New Yorkers to learn new job skills, earn certificates and advance their careers. At a time when unemployment has risen due to the pandemic, we hope these online courses will help New Yorkers get back on their feet. So, whether you're unemployed, underemployed, or are simply interested in learning new skills, check it out and sign up. " [Oh, cool. I might check that out. I have free time. I adore learning new things. Once I audited a couple of Psychology Courses at the New School. And I did continuing education courses through NYU.]
3. "The iconic Christmas tree arrived in Rockefeller Center. The 75-foot Norway spruce is New York grown—specifically, the tree comes from Oneonta, NY. It will be illuminated on December 2nd, but there will be no public viewing of the tree lighting ceremony because of the pandemic. The tree lighting will instead be broadcast nationally on NBC." [I may try to see it long after it is lit during the season on my own, not sure - it would involve a semi-hazardous trip on subways with maskless wonders. Better to just stay home. Last I heard they were trying to figure out how to do it in such a way to discourage and avoid crowds.]
4. "We can't underestimate the strain of COVID fatigue. Mental health is just as important as physical health. New Yorkers can call the State's mental health hotline at 1-844-863-9314 for free emotional support, consultations & referrals to a provider or visit the Office of Mental Health for resources."[So far, outside of being menopausal, I'm doing okay on this front - helped mightily by the fact that I'm not exactly social to begin with and kind of prefer my own space. Entertaining myself has never been an issue, entertaining other people on the other hand...I honestly think COVID was created to kill extroverts. Introverts or folks who prefer staying home to read a book or watch tv over partying, are fine.]
"Tonight's "Deep Breath Moment": When a group of NYC hospital staff aren't serving on the frontline, they're writing short stories, poems, and other pieces as part of a literary journal. Started in 2000 by six individuals at Bellevue Hospital, the Bellevue Literary Review ties together the medical and literary community. Over the past two decades, the journal has published fiction, nonfiction and poetry about health and healing. This fall, NY actors Erin Cherry and Nkosi Nkululeko held a virtual reading of pieces from the journal as part of a longstanding autumn tradition. Watch the reading here. Thank you to the Bellevue Literary Review's Editor in Chief and frontline hero Danielle Ofri for sharing this with us. "
To date? COVID STATS in NEW YORK.
NY has about 19 million people. It has conducted 17,036,695 tests. [I told you that NY is test happy. If it were up to our Governor, everyone would be tested at least twice a week. This isn't exactly feasible - but he's trying.
In NY you can get tested repeatedly for free. Crazy workplace has all these areas that you can tested and get the flu shot. I already got the flu shot via my doctor. The test sites aren't exactly nearby - the free ones aren't at any rate, and the ones that are close - have hour long lines. There's also the home test kit covered by my insurance. But I've no symptoms and no exposure that I'm aware of. (I don't exactly interact with folks outside of going to and from the grocery store, the cemetery, laundry, and picking up mail. And the contact is minimal at best, and everyone wears masks or is not close.
Considering I didn't get it traveling to and from work, without a mask, in crowds of people in January through the first part of March...
Anyhow, the 17 million is most likely the same people repeatedly. I am willing to bet 95% of it is the same folks.
34,076 people are dead in NY, that's more than any other state at the moment. And the death toll is rising. Every day more people in the state die of the virus. 82,022 allegedly have recovered. I'm guessing both numbers are higher - these are the ones they got from hospitals. NY has 568,778 confirmed cases (I'm guessing more - I know of a few that weren't counted).
Both Texas and California have leaped over NY - with a million each.
I get my numbers from the same source I've been following since January, the COVID MAP OF DOOM.
According to the MAP OF DOOM, the states with the most cases are:
* TEXAS: 1,078,583 confirmed
* California: 1,049,457 confirmed
* Florida : 897,323 confirmed
* Illinois: 597,849 confirmed
* New York: 568,778 confirmed
* Georgia: 430,571 confirmed
* Wisconsin: 342,155 confirmed
On Crazy Company front..
I got an email asking me to volunteer to hand out masks on subways, trains and at stations. Entitled : Mask Up New York Campaign. Tempting, but my blood pressure is still higher than it should be. And I'm trying to get it down, also I've taken reasonable accommodation to remain working remotely from home.
Potential good news... Immunity to the virus (once achieved) may last up to several years
Eight months after infection, most people who have recovered still have enough immune cells to fend off the virus and prevent illness, the new data show. A slow rate of decline in the short term suggests, happily, that these cells may persist in the body for a very, very long time to come.
The research, published online, has not been peer-reviewed nor published in a scientific journal. But it is the most comprehensive and long-ranging study of immune memory to the coronavirus to date.
“That amount of memory would likely prevent the vast majority of people from getting hospitalized disease, severe disease, for many years,” said Shane Crotty, a virologist at the La Jolla Institute of Immunology who co-led the new study.
The findings are likely to come as a relief to experts worried that immunity to the virus might be short-lived, and that vaccines might have to be administered repeatedly to keep the pandemic under control.
And the research squares with another recent finding: that survivors of SARS, caused by another coronavirus, still carry certain important immune cells 17 years after recovering.
The findings are consistent with encouraging evidence emerging from other labs. Researchers at the University of Washington, led by the immunologist Marion Pepper, had earlier shown that certain “memory” cells that were produced following infection with the coronavirus persist for at least three months in the body.
A study published last week also found that people who have recovered from Covid-19 have powerful and protective killer immune cells even when antibodies are not detectable.
These studies “are all by and large painting the same picture, which is that once you get past those first few critical weeks, the rest of the response looks pretty conventional,” said Deepta Bhattacharya, an immunologist at the University of Arizona.
Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University, said she was not surprised that the body mounts a long-lasting response because “that’s what is supposed to happen.” Still, she was heartened by the research: “This is exciting news.”
I guess only time will tell? I've resigned myself to not seeing family or friends until Spring 2021. And not getting a vaccine until then. Even if there is one tomorrow, as my mother put it, I'm at the bottom of the folks who need to get it. I can work remotely from home and I'm under 60 years of age. Also I live in New York City.
Considering I've yet to get tested, that says something.
Watching this whole thing play out is kind of fascinating from a sci-fi horror novel perspective, and a historical one. People are doing what I predicted and really not, at the same time. Apparently I gave my home state very little credit, I'm relieved to state. I was half-expecting that I'd have to find a way to Escape from New York. Relieved this did not turn out to be the case. I'm weirdly safer here than elsewhere. Who'd have thunk it?
I honestly did not think New York would handle a lock-down well - surprise, surprise it did. Better than most of the country actually. New Yorkers continue to amaze me. On the other end - our Federal Government unfortunately lived down to expectations. And the science community kind of missed the boat. That said, they are working rather hard to redeem themselves with not one but two vaccines in development.
I don't know about anyone else but, I am having nightmares. Last night I had the dreaded waking nightmare - where you wake up into another nightmare and can't get out of it. It was a loop - where I was trying to get somewhere - I'm thinking work, but I forgot my mask, and couldn't find one, and kept trying to use other things - and other people weren't wearing masks either, some were, some weren't...and I got lost and had nowhere to sleep, and it was cold. (Possibly because it was cold in my apartment.)
no subject
Date: 2020-11-19 07:49 pm (UTC)I think you are fine. As long as you avoid restaurants, bars, gyms, and large gatherings. That appears to be the problem - as far as I can tell. People aren't getting it going grocery shopping and to the doctor's or county clerk's. But by going to family gatherings, etc.