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damont(Originally posted to my GoFundMe earlier today, so I didn't bother to change the timestamp. This is basically copied verbatim (modulo formatting), including the fundraising stuff at the end; I *was* posting to GoFundMe after all. Feel free to ignore those bits if you want. Link to the fundraiser will be provided in the comments and upon request.)
Let's try some more semi-random Links From All Over to share in this week's installment of "SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 related PSA / traditional weblogging meets the usual begging post", again covering a very wide range of topics that all relate to the pandemic but are otherwise not necessarily related at all.
First up, a report on an odd side effect of the existing vaccines...
COVID-19 vaccine update: Radiologists report side effects mimicking breast cancer on mammograms
The SA variant of the virus does seem to be the nastiest one so far, so I'm not surprised at this next article. However, friends in the biz have pointed out that "in lab settings" is terribly vague, that "reduced" might simply mean that the effectiveness goes from "kicks viral ass" to "provides good protection", and that "depending on the 'lab settings' it might not be even be as bad as that. It might be 'serum for patients vaccinated with X worked less'. That doesn't account for epitope spreading in vivo."
Pfizer, Moderna vaccines have reduced effectiveness against South African variant, studies show
Sanofi, who already agreed to do "finish and fill" for Pfizer/BioNTech in Germany to up vaccine production, has agreed to another production-increasing deal with a different competitor. This while they still have two vaccine candidates of their own in development/testing.
Sanofi to produce 12M vaccines a month for rival Johnson & Johnson
This next video sheds some light on a casualty of the pandemic that many people haven't thought about (or the costs of dealing with the ramifications): guide dogs who are no longer going out in public, or working regularly, and are thus losing their training and will either have to be replaced (at tens of thousands of dollars each) or their partners will have to find a different accommodation...
My Guide Dog Retirement Plan + My Next Dog… *very emotional*
And, lastly but rather depressingly, the recent statistics.
U.S. life expectancy falls by a year, biggest drop since WWII
"To Me He's Not A Number": Families Reflect As U.S. Passes 500,000 COVID-19 Deaths
And now for something completely dif^H^H^H expected by now: the usual PSA-and-begging part of this post. Most of you have been reading these posts for quite some time and can thus guess what comes next: the plea for those of you who are able to SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESSES. Some businesses were essential and never closed during the lockdowns. Others, after having opened back up, are now trying to stay open to what extent they can as the semi-lockdown is being tightened back up in response to pandemic surges. What these businesses have in common is that locally owned and operated businesses give better "bang for the buck" when it comes to keeping the local economy moving. So please do what you can to help keep your local economy a little bit more afloat. Locally owned businesses are, and will continue to be, struggling to survive and get back on their feet, so please patronize them as much as you can. BUY LOCAL. Please however, do so in a safe manner. Keep on wearing masks and other protective equipment when going shopping in person, continue social distancing. Act intelligently, because I know you can.
And now, for ourselves. Rent on the storage units is due RIGHT NOW (the first one is past due), the medical bills aren't going away, and neither are any of the others. And thus, because after so long we STILL can't afford shame, here's my shameless and desperate plea for help. Please PLEASE spread the word as much as you feel able; share this fundraiser on lots of social media, by email, even by writing the link on pieces of paper and passing them around. Encourage folks you know to donate and to spread the word themselves. I've long since estimated that I'll need about 1,000 different contributors to make the goal, so getting the word out is important. And IF YOU ARE ABLE TO, please donate! We know that some of you have done so over the last ten months (for which A GREAT BIG THANK YOU) and lots of you just can't. For those of you who can, even a spare 5 or 10 clams, if that's all you can afford, is appreciated. Every little bit helps. (Remember, NO FEELING GUILTY if you don't have the means to contribute, or enough spoons to spread the word as far as you'd like. Also, no actual live clams please. Tasty though they are, and especially on "meatless" days, shipping them is really not feasible at the best of times, which these are not.) And as I also keep saying: unlikely as it may be in these times of pandemic-fueled recession, if you have any job leads for either of us, PLEASE contact us! Relocation is TOTALLY an option. (90-plus-percent remote-work is the best option in the current circumstances, at least through 2021.)
Again, if anyone here actually is in a position to help out, right now would be a truly awesome time to do so. The fact that I'm writing this on my birthday would make your contribution even MORE awesome. If you can't, you can't; I understand that better than most... thanks in advance for whatever you are able to do. And remember to take care of yourselves, folks. Whatever the local restrictions may be now where you are, please practice the UTMOST caution: stay home as much as you can, go out to do what you must, and as I've been saying, keep tabs on the infection rate for your vicinity, not just your state/province/country. STAY SAFE. Wash your hands, keep hydrated, boost your immune system by whatever means works for you. Practice social distancing as much you realistically can. WEAR MASKS THAT COVER THE NOSE AND MOUTH and make sure you're actually COVERING both your nose and mouth with them. Keep in touch with your friends and loved ones from a safe distance. Tell them you care and that you're thinking of them. And as always, thank you for your continued support.
Let's try some more semi-random Links From All Over to share in this week's installment of "SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 related PSA / traditional weblogging meets the usual begging post", again covering a very wide range of topics that all relate to the pandemic but are otherwise not necessarily related at all.
First up, a report on an odd side effect of the existing vaccines...
COVID-19 vaccine update: Radiologists report side effects mimicking breast cancer on mammograms
The SA variant of the virus does seem to be the nastiest one so far, so I'm not surprised at this next article. However, friends in the biz have pointed out that "in lab settings" is terribly vague, that "reduced" might simply mean that the effectiveness goes from "kicks viral ass" to "provides good protection", and that "depending on the 'lab settings' it might not be even be as bad as that. It might be 'serum for patients vaccinated with X worked less'. That doesn't account for epitope spreading in vivo."
Pfizer, Moderna vaccines have reduced effectiveness against South African variant, studies show
Sanofi, who already agreed to do "finish and fill" for Pfizer/BioNTech in Germany to up vaccine production, has agreed to another production-increasing deal with a different competitor. This while they still have two vaccine candidates of their own in development/testing.
Sanofi to produce 12M vaccines a month for rival Johnson & Johnson
This next video sheds some light on a casualty of the pandemic that many people haven't thought about (or the costs of dealing with the ramifications): guide dogs who are no longer going out in public, or working regularly, and are thus losing their training and will either have to be replaced (at tens of thousands of dollars each) or their partners will have to find a different accommodation...
My Guide Dog Retirement Plan + My Next Dog… *very emotional*
And, lastly but rather depressingly, the recent statistics.
U.S. life expectancy falls by a year, biggest drop since WWII
"To Me He's Not A Number": Families Reflect As U.S. Passes 500,000 COVID-19 Deaths
And now for something completely dif^H^H^H expected by now: the usual PSA-and-begging part of this post. Most of you have been reading these posts for quite some time and can thus guess what comes next: the plea for those of you who are able to SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESSES. Some businesses were essential and never closed during the lockdowns. Others, after having opened back up, are now trying to stay open to what extent they can as the semi-lockdown is being tightened back up in response to pandemic surges. What these businesses have in common is that locally owned and operated businesses give better "bang for the buck" when it comes to keeping the local economy moving. So please do what you can to help keep your local economy a little bit more afloat. Locally owned businesses are, and will continue to be, struggling to survive and get back on their feet, so please patronize them as much as you can. BUY LOCAL. Please however, do so in a safe manner. Keep on wearing masks and other protective equipment when going shopping in person, continue social distancing. Act intelligently, because I know you can.
And now, for ourselves. Rent on the storage units is due RIGHT NOW (the first one is past due), the medical bills aren't going away, and neither are any of the others. And thus, because after so long we STILL can't afford shame, here's my shameless and desperate plea for help. Please PLEASE spread the word as much as you feel able; share this fundraiser on lots of social media, by email, even by writing the link on pieces of paper and passing them around. Encourage folks you know to donate and to spread the word themselves. I've long since estimated that I'll need about 1,000 different contributors to make the goal, so getting the word out is important. And IF YOU ARE ABLE TO, please donate! We know that some of you have done so over the last ten months (for which A GREAT BIG THANK YOU) and lots of you just can't. For those of you who can, even a spare 5 or 10 clams, if that's all you can afford, is appreciated. Every little bit helps. (Remember, NO FEELING GUILTY if you don't have the means to contribute, or enough spoons to spread the word as far as you'd like. Also, no actual live clams please. Tasty though they are, and especially on "meatless" days, shipping them is really not feasible at the best of times, which these are not.) And as I also keep saying: unlikely as it may be in these times of pandemic-fueled recession, if you have any job leads for either of us, PLEASE contact us! Relocation is TOTALLY an option. (90-plus-percent remote-work is the best option in the current circumstances, at least through 2021.)
Again, if anyone here actually is in a position to help out, right now would be a truly awesome time to do so. The fact that I'm writing this on my birthday would make your contribution even MORE awesome. If you can't, you can't; I understand that better than most... thanks in advance for whatever you are able to do. And remember to take care of yourselves, folks. Whatever the local restrictions may be now where you are, please practice the UTMOST caution: stay home as much as you can, go out to do what you must, and as I've been saying, keep tabs on the infection rate for your vicinity, not just your state/province/country. STAY SAFE. Wash your hands, keep hydrated, boost your immune system by whatever means works for you. Practice social distancing as much you realistically can. WEAR MASKS THAT COVER THE NOSE AND MOUTH and make sure you're actually COVERING both your nose and mouth with them. Keep in touch with your friends and loved ones from a safe distance. Tell them you care and that you're thinking of them. And as always, thank you for your continued support.
no subject
Date: 2021-02-24 04:55 pm (UTC)