The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

India was hit by a shocking surge.  I wonder if the vaccines have gotten there yet?  Their problem is made worse by their severe overpopulation.  I hope that does not happen here in this country.    I wonder, if this is a pandemic, can the flu also be considered one?  On Wikipedia, the flu is not listed as one, but the Spanish flu is.

A "pandemic" requires a rapid increase in the number of infections.  Influenza cases have been relatively stable for many decades, so it does not qualify.

  AIDS is listed.  Those numbers have been stable

Also with the vaccines, I predict this will indeed be similar to the flu. 

You either weren't alive or were too young to know when AIDS came on the scene. Definitely qualified.

Vaccines start there.  India, I believe is one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) producer of the vaccine in the world, but they shipped most of it out.  I think it only something like 2% of the population is fully vaccinated there.

The AIDS comparison made me curious, so I found this chart of AIDS cases and deaths in the US, by year:

(https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/figures/m021a2f1.gif)

I know the Moderna and Pfizer were mRNA, but isn't J&J a traditional one?

Yes, J&J and AstraZeneca are traditional vaccines.

If Covid-19 becomes like the flu in terms of stats, will we go back to normal then?

Much of Texas already has.

I think the whole country can open fully now

I just hope we can maintain the good effects on the environment

Texas has averaged 50 COVID deaths per day over the last week, equivalent to over 18,000 deaths/year.
For purposes of comparison, TX had less than 1,900 flu deaths during the 2019 flu season (roughly 20 per day).

If Texas has decided to return to normal, it's not because the threat is no longer serious.

Is that more or less than with restrictions?

My fear is that the virus will mutate

Down from around 300 per day about 3 months ago. That's a 84% drop in average deaths per day. The Texas Rangers had 38,238 attend their opening day and that was a month ago. It won't have to get down to 20 average deaths per day for things to return to normal. It's the new normal.

The day after Columbine, if you told someone that by 2020, multiple school shootings every year would be "the new normal," they probably wouldn't have believed you, either.
So I'm not saying you're wrong.

I mean, it's not like TX was particularly worried about COVID when it was 300 deaths per day, either.

This is promising news but I'm sure it will change many times before then.

CDC predicts a 'sharp decline' in US Covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths in late July: Fatalities could drop to just 'tens' a week by September if vaccinations continue at the current pace, model shows


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-9546181/COVIDs-US-toll-projected-drop-sharply-end-July.html

*IF * vax continue at current pace.  That is a big if.

I don't have a problem wearing face cover anyway.  I may do it even when this is over

Even at the current level of vaccinations, Covid has been greatly reduced.  From a couple articles I read in my local paper today:

1) California which is at a 50% vax level, experienced only 4.3 new cases per 100,000 last week.  For comparison, Germany which is now in crises had 146.9 per 100,000 last week.

2) San Francisco with a population of 882,000, which has one of the highest vax rates of 72%, had only 6 Covid deaths in the month of April.

3) Nationally, 66% of the population over age 65 have been vaccinated.

IMO vaccinations will continue now that it is getting easier to get vaccinated.  NYS last week announced that those over 65 can now just show up at a vax site to get vaccinated.  Many people have been hampered by not being able to go online to schedule an appointment for vaccinations.  Making it so you don't have to schedule an appointment will increase people that get vaccinated.

   I ust hope we don't have to get one every year.  Aso, here's a question for everybody woring from home.  How has that affected your eectric bi?

That's an interesting question actually.

I took a 10 month sample of electric bills pre-COVID, when my entire family was not at home.  The average bill over those months was $168.06.
I took a sample of the same 10 month stretch post-COVID, when my kids and wife were at home-school for some of it and I was home for all of it and the monthly average is $182.35

That's an increase of $14.29 per month, or 8.5%.

That's probably mostly because of air conditioning, but we're also taking more showers, doing more laundry, cooking more.  We're just here, eating a lot more at home, doing more home chores...it was a lot.

But the flip side of that, is that I saved way more than that in gas.

I also spent a ton more on groceries, but probably saved double from not eating out.

Overall, COVID saved me a ton of money, that I ended up putting back into the house.

Seems like many people around here are kind of shying away from masks.  We went to Longhorn tonight and they have taken down all their mask signs as well the local LA Fitness gym has changed their sign from "required" to "recommended".

I get what your saying.

^^^ I ike your stye....

Got another positive test at work.  I wish people would just get the vaccine.  Managing this is a pain in the ass and now a bunch of people may have to test and quarantine.