News roundup for Tue, May 11, 2021

11 Comments on News roundup for Tue, May 11, 2021

There’s been a large ransomware attack on the Colonial gas pipeline that runs from Texas to New Jersey–one of the largest gas pipelines in the US. People from multiple states are reporting gas shortages at the pump. The cyber-attack is extremely serious and is preventing use of the pipeline. President Biden has declared an emergency in 17 states. These states will need gas shipments from other nearby states, and potentially from overseas as well. States that are not landlocked may be able to receive shipments by sea. Landlocked states in the region may suffer. The pipeline has been shut down since Friday. The company hopes to resolve the situation by the end of the week. Gas prices could rise from coast to coast:

Driscoll’s strawberries doesn’t know how much to produce—strawberries became a hot commodity when people were stuck at home. Will the trend continue this year? Gauging production to match demand is a tricky game, and it’s contributing to many of the strange supply chain issues we’re seeing all over the US.

Some restaurants are offering large sign-on bonuses for new workers.

The world has nearly 159.6 million COVID cases.  The world has gained 5.5 million cases in a week. There have been over 3.3 million deaths in total. The US has had over 33.5 million cases. Over 596,000 Americans have died. The US has gained over 25,000 cases since yesterday. Weekly case gain is declining. There have been 329 deaths in the US in the last day. India leads the world in deaths per day, with over 3,800 in the last day. India has also gained 300,000-400,000 new cases per day for multiple weeks in a row.

Merkel opposes releasing COVID vaccine intellectual property to other countries, saying it will do little to increase production and could even hamper vaccine production by dis-incentivizing innovation.

An IHME mathematical model of excess deaths estimates that COVID deaths are closer to 900,000 in the US v. the ~600,000 currently reported. The same model intimates that Russia has had 5x the number of deaths it has reported. Although statistical models are only as good as the assumptions underlying their data, it’s also relatively easy to compare the number of deaths to date to previous years. When there are multiple hundreds of thousands of excess deaths compared to previous years during a pandemic, it’s not too difficult to guess the cause.

Hundreds of bodies are still stuck in frozen morgue trucks in New York one year after the state was overwhelmed by COVID cases. The freezer trucks were meant to be temporary.

Cruise ship companies are holding firm on need for proof of vaccination before traveling onboard. The Florida Governor’s refusal of vaccine requirements may cause cruise ships to take their business to other states.

The Indian variant may be more transmissible than even the UK variant:

The Olympics is coming, where fewer than 1% of the country is vaccinated:

Half a million health care workers have left the workforce in the US:

Pfizer has been approved for use in those aged 12-15:

Mucormycosis infection in COVID patients notably high in India:

Stephanie Arnold | cosmicpixle

Stephanie Arnold is an advanced practice psychiatric nurse and a doctoral candidate in UA Tuscaloosa’s DNP program. Stephanie moonlights from time to time at UCLA teaching mental health nursing. She also likes making cold-process soap.

  • 11 Comments
    • EzlyAmuzzed May 11, 2021

      I am trying to understand these fugal infections in India in those with Covid. My understanding of the fungus is it can be found in disturbed dirt and affects the lungs and brain. I read it is highly contagious in hospitals because it favors those with compromised immune systems and it lives in bed linens and such. I personally find it more likely that this is a secondary infection and not a symptom of Covid, but I am not a healthcare worker just someone that likes to analyze everything. 

      Additionally I’m struggling to understand fully just how safe we are once fully vaccinated for at least 2 weeks. Everything I am reading indicates it is a very low instance of people still getting infected, but then last night I learned my friend who was fully vaccinated 3 weeks ago, now has Covid. She did drive several hours to visit family and stopped at rest areas where she thinks she got it, but has otherwise not been out at all. She came home feeling horrible with a 102 fever, but I think she is better today. Meanwhile I know other people who never stopped going to the theme parks in Orlando, FL from the beginning and never got sick. It just doesn’t make sense sometimes.

      As always I greatly appreciate these updates!

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      • Hardened EzlyAmuzzed May 11, 2021

        Here’s an article in the New York Times that talks about risks for the vaccinated: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/23/health/covid-cases-vaccinated-people.html

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      • EzlyAmuzzed Hardened May 11, 2021

        This follows what I have been reading. I guess I just need to remind myself that my friend getting it, and this hard, is extremely rare and I am being paranoid. 

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      • Hardened EzlyAmuzzed May 11, 2021

        You’re not being paranoid.  We understandably all want this to be over but the vaccines aren’t about risk elimination—they provide risk reduction.  When I reach the 2 week mark after my second vaccine I’m going to relax my safety protocols: no more quarantining of packages, no more food restrictions, I will start going to restaurants with outdoor seating, and best of all I’m going to cuddle with other vaccinated friends for the first time in 15 months.  I will continue to wear masks if I spend any time indoors away from my home.  I will know that I can still get infected with COVID but that if I do then it will be much less serious than if I hadn’t been vaccinated.  The peace of mind is significant.  Life is never without risk.  Be adequately prepared then go out and enjoy!

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      • EzlyAmuzzed Hardened May 11, 2021

        Hardened I agree with all you said! I have been 5 weeks fully vaccinated now since I got mine early by looking for the most obscure pop-up site I could find and asked to wait for leftovers. Interesting thing about getting back out and wanting to see friends is many have anxiety about getting out, this wasn’t the big party boom I was expecting a year ago! I myself have found it strange being around people, even though I’m an extrovert, and find I have to go in short bursts. However I agree the risk is low and there is always risk in doing just about anything!

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      • woodrow EzlyAmuzzed May 11, 2021

        I am thinking of my vaccination as an important backup.  I think it remains important to be very careful about entering buildings or other enclosed spaces, where the air is confined and shared. Maybe you can relax a bit more about being outside, or with friends who have also been vaccinated.  Along with others reporting this I, too, have experienced discomfort when around people, have lost my social ease, and am exhausted after an experience involving a public space.  Wonder if there is a word for that. 

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      • Stephanie ArnoldContributor EzlyAmuzzed May 11, 2021

        The fungal infections are opportunistic, probably impacting people on steroids and respirators most. I think you can be relatively confident once fully vaccinated. Reinfections are rare. When reinfections of vaccinated people happen, they tend to be mild. I would watch for the spread of known escape variants, because that would change the game. mRNA vaccines are reasonably effective against most variants at the moment. 

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      • Quick update, I learned that my fully vaxed friend that got covid gave blood the day before traveling. I’m really thinking her immune system was weakened and that was how she became of of those few breakthrough cases. Not saying don’t give blood, but maybe don’t travel the next day.

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    • woodrow May 11, 2021

      I live in a rural area in Georgia, the ten gas stations in a five-mile radius are out of every kind of gas except diesel. The one station near an expressway that had gas was using pump limits of 10 gallons.  Not a big deal for me, I’m retired and don’t have to go anywhere,  but feel for folks who routinely go through a tank of gas every two days, commuting to jobs, and priced out of low- or no-gas driving solutions.  This is much worse than the hurricane refinery outages and the Colonial pipe leak in Alabama a few years ago. People wondering on social media whether to sit on the gas they have or go roaming (using up the gas) to look for a fillup. 

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      • Hardened woodrow May 11, 2021

        Wow!

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      • Dragoon woodrow May 12, 2021

        Wonder how many people will get so desperate and not think straight and put diesel in their gasoline engines just trying to get home. Sounds ridiculous but I’m sure there will be a handful of people who will end up doing that.

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