“That’s what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting as it tracks vaccinations for COVID-19 state by state. The entire nation is behind pace, due in part to the failures of the previous presidential administration to take virtually anything related to the coronavirus pandemic seriously. But Missouri, as of Sunday, is last, with just 3.6% of its population having received the first shot of the life-saving vaccine.”

“Unfortunately, being last in public health is nothing new in Missouri. It’s been that way for a long time. The average state spends $33.50 per person for various public health measures. Missouri, dead last in the nation, spends $6 per person, according to the Missouri Foundation for Health.”

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

I’m looking at a burning skyscraper, hundreds of stories tall. On every floor people are laughing and talking. Here at street level, more people continue to enter the building, even as they see the flames and smoke billowing from nearly every floor. Every few seconds a body falls to the pavement but the newcomers simply step over them.

“The building’s on fire!” I shout but they only laugh and wave and head for the elevators.

It occurs to me people won’t stop going in until everyone’s dead or the building collapses.

BBC: “International air travellers will in the future need to prove they have been vaccinated against Covid-19 in order to board Qantas flights, the airline says.

Bloomberg: “The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced Monday that it’s “in the final development phase” of a “digital passport” mobile app that would receive COVID-19 test and vaccination certificates. […] Global airline lobby IATA is working on a mobile app that will help travelers demonstrate their coronavirus-free status, joining a push to introduce so-called Covid passports to speed up the revival of international travel.”

This is certainly a responsible thing to do. But it is also great marketing. When passengers begin asking if the airline requires proof of vaccination, and choosing those that do, it won’t be long before all airlines do this.

Before you enroll your child in school, you have to provide proof of vaccination against common childhood diseases. (Or at least you used to.) When the highway patrolman walks up to your window, he asks for your driver’s license, vehicle registration and proof of insurance. And you better have it.

If you don’t want to wear a mask to protect others during a pandemic, that’s fine (oh, and fuck you). But let’s see how strong your “my body, my choice” convictions are when you can’t get into Arrowhead Stadium (where the KC Chiefs play), or Red Lobster, or the hillbilly casino down the road. It’s gonna be lonely out there for mask-deniers. But hey, you’ve got each other.

“If you take 10 million people and just wave your hand back and forth over their upper arms, in the next two months you would expect to see about 4,000 heart attacks. About 4,000 strokes. Over 9,000 new diagnoses of cancer. And about 14,000 of that ten million will die, out of usual all-causes mortality. No one would notice. That’s how many people die and get sick anyway. But if you took those ten million people and gave them a new vaccine instead, there’s a real danger that those heart attacks, cancer diagnoses, and deaths will be attributed to the vaccine. I mean, if you reach a large enough population, you are literally going to have cases where someone gets the vaccine and drops dead the next day (just as they would have if they *didn’t* get the vaccine). It could prove difficult to convince that person’s friends and relatives of that lack of connection, though.”

— Derek Lowe (In The Pipeline)

Interesting “vaccine tool” from the New York Times.

“Based on (my) risk profile, we believe you’re in line behind 118.5 million people across the United States. When it comes to Missouri, we think you’re behind 2.4 million others who are at higher risk in your state. And in Cole County, you’re behind 31,000 others. If the line in Missouri was represented by about 100 people, this is where you’d be standing:”

Tell me again why I should care when a virus denier gets sick or dies. Yes, I understand they endanger health care workers and friends/neighbors. I get that. I’ll grieve for them. But if you refuse to wear a seat belt and die in a crash… or refuse to wear a helmet and die in a motorcycle crash (no others harmed)… why am I supposed to care? I’ve only got so much grief to go around and I’m now rationing.

Americans revive spirit of first Thanksgiving by carrying disease to new areas

“I was watching a PBS special about the Pilgrims,” one American said, “and they spent their entire first winter in Massachusetts before Thanksgiving just watching their family members die. They carried them out to the woods, propped them up against trees and left them there to give the illusion that the settlement was guarded. That wasn’t something we incorporated into our Thanksgiving before, but it’s never too late to start a new tradition.”

From a delightful piece in the Washington Post. Behind their pay-wall, I think. But here’s the link.

I like pumpkin pie as well as the next guy but let’s face it: Thanksgiving –and Xmas for that matter– are made-up holidays. Like Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day and all the rest. Mostly about selling stuff. So putting family at risk for some cranberry sauce? Just selfish. I’ll celebrate “thanksgiving” on the day people start getting vaccinated.