Mr Info

There is a vaccine, Shingrix, for Shingles which was approved in 2017 and more effective than its predecessor, Zostavax, which was approved in 2006.

This is nothing new depending on the state you live in. For example in VA: “For the mixed beverage licensee, current Virginia ABC regulations stipulate that a minimum 45 percent of the total gross sales must be from food and nonalcoholic beverages. Conversely, alcohol sales should comprise no more than 55 percent of these sales.”

Imo, the # of deaths should not be the basis if you are trying to perform a comparison. The data should also include the # of people hospitalized and those in ICU/ventilators for a C19 impact analysis. So far, I have had a close friend and an acquaintance who were both in ICU & on ventilators for over 12 days. One even had a tracheostomy. Many of us thought neither would make it but thankfully both are now home. Just comparing C19 deaths against flu deaths in other years without including the impact to the medical community to treat C19 patients and prevent death would not encompass the full impact of C19.

Moderna early vaccine results reported this morning in CNBC article summarizing NEJM publication late yesterday...all great news. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/14/moderna-says-its-coronavirus-vaccine-trial-produced-robust-immune-response-in-all-patients.html Moderna's potential vaccine to prevent Covid-19 produced neutralizing antibodies in all 45 patients in its early stage human trial, according to newly released data. The findings provide more promising data that the vaccine may give some protection against the coronavirus. Moderna's shares soared after the company said its potential vaccine to prevent Covid-19 produced a "robust" immune response in all 45 patients in its early stage human trial, according to newly released data published Tuesday evening in the peer-reviewed New England Journal of Medicine. All 45 patients produced neutralizing antibodies, which scientists believe is important for building immunity and provided more promising data that the vaccine may give some protection against the coronavirus. In the trial, each participant received a 25, 100 or 250 microgram dose, with 15 people in each dose group. Participants received two doses of the potential vaccine. After two vaccinations, the vaccine elicited a "robust" immune response in all participants in all dose cohorts, Moderna said. The company said the levels of neutralizing antibodies in patients in the high dose group were fourfold higher than in recovered Covid-19 patients. "These Phase 1 data demonstrate that vaccination with mRNA-1273 elicits a robust immune response across all dose levels and clearly support the choice of 100 µg in a prime and boost regimen as the optimal dose for the Phase 3 study," Moderna's chief medical officer, Tal Zaks, said in a statement. "We look forward to beginning our Phase 3 study of mRNA-1273 this month to demonstrate our vaccine's ability to significantly reduce the risk of COVID-19 disease." In May, the company had released preliminary information from its early stage trial, but it lacked all of its data and it hadn't been peer-reviewed yet. Moderna said the vaccine was generally well tolerated, but more than half of the participants reported mild or moderate symptoms such as fatigue, muscle aches or pain at the injection site. Evaluation of the durability of immune responses is ongoing, Moderna said, and participants will be followed for one year after the second vaccination. The effort by Moderna is one of several working on a potential vaccine for Covid-19, which has infected more than 13 million people and killed at least 573,200 across the globe as of Tuesday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. More than 100 vaccines are under development globally, according to the World Health Organization. Earlier Tuesday, Moderna announced it would begin its late-stage trial for its vaccine on July 27. The trial will enroll 30,000 participants across 87 locations, according to ClinicalTrials.gov. Participants in the experimental arm will receive a 100 microgram dose of the potential vaccine on the first day and another 29 days later. Some patients will also receive a placebo. Moderna's experimental vaccine contains genetic material called messenger RNA, or mRNA. The mRNA is a genetic code that tells cells what to build — in this case, an antigen that may induce an immune response to the virus. It became the first candidate to enter a phase 1 human trial in March. Scientists are still learning about key aspects of the virus, including how immune systems respond once a person is exposed. The answers, they say, may have important implications for vaccine development, including how quickly it can be deployed to the public. The U.S. is aiming to deliver 300 million doses of a vaccine for Covid-19 by early 2021. [Edit: here's the NEJM article, finally. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2022483?query=featured_home A key figure for neutralizing antibodies:

It’s the real name of a guy I met in college but still the best I ever heard. Richard ‘Dick’ Weiner.

I posted about a flight I made ~mid-June a couple of pages back: RT: RIC-IAD-BUF. After my June experience, I flew the first part of the same trip yesterday. Planes were about 50% full. I was able to reserve single row seats on all flights. Everyone I saw wore masks on the flights and in the terminals unless they were eating or drinking. I remain more comfortable flying than going to a Lowe’s/Home Depot. Unsure how long the enforcement/compliance with face coverings & distancing (e.g., ingress & egress to the planes are managed well) for air travel will continue along with the paucity of passengers at airports.

Garcia

This has been the only published article, thus far, correlating the spread of C19 and air conditioners. It would lend more credence if another peer-reviewed paper were published corroborating this. There is this article questioning its conclusion. https://www.healthline.com/health-news/can-air-conditioning-spread-covid-19-probably-not This article uses expert opinion to dismiss but no evidence. Would like to see more data to support this type of transmission than the one paper.

Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine positive results (antibodies produced; no serious side effects) from Phase I/II will lead to larger Phase III study (30k) starting end of July. It is an mRNA vaccine like Moderna’s. Pfizer ramping up for 100 M vaccines by end of 2020. https://apple.news/ABqlYBoVHTjGejJd88dpTQQ Posted 19 hours ago (edited) Very briefly...double-blind studies and test participants regularly for C19 antibody production and C19 presence. Correlate data to determine whether those given vaccine did not produce C19 infections. Actually, if C19 flare-ups continue that may help with determining efficacy of vaccine. There needs to be virus activity for evaluating a vaccine. More info: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.technologyreview.com/2020/05/26/1002191/how-show-a-coronavirus-vaccine-prevents-covid-19/amp/ Edited 18 hours ago by Mr Info [What you say is correct, @Mr Info, but I think @spartacus point is that if the vaccine is studied for short-term effectiveness in a PhIII trial of a few months starting now before being approved for use in January, there is no way to determine whether the duration of the vaccine protection is more 5 months. Valid point. A number of experts have pointed out that we may wind up with an initial short-term effective vaccine that will hopefully help extinguish outbreaks in congregate living facilities, and an eventual different vaccine with long term effects. And don't neglect the importance of inducing a T cell response, it's hard to measure but may be key -Hapless]

Mr Bojangles - Jerry Jeff Walker (but most popular by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) JJW maintained the song was inspired by his encounter with a white street performer who took Bill Robinson’s stage name as an alias.

I flew in June from RIC-IAD-BUF and back the same way. They were all small jets with a single seat & double seat rows. I selected a single seat row for all flights. Flights were at ~50% capacity. Actually, I felt safer flying than walking into a Lowe’s/Home Depot. >90% of people were wearing masks in the terminals & on the flight. After that positive experience, I will be flying the same route again next week, first week in Aug, and home opener weekend. My parents & sisters live in/near Buffalo so can visit them even if game is closed to fans. I am interested to see if the airlines and airports maintain the same observance of masks & distancing In upcoming flights.

Let’s assume your data is reasonably accurate. Does this have to be one or the other? There was an economic collapse 12 years ago. These issues should have presented then. Should our state and federal govts be prepared to offer extended mental health, outreach, etc. when this is anticipated? Let’s try to manage both effectively and provide help to those that need it.

The Giants and the Pats have done this. Ok, there is some good will from this. Every year, clubs track how much more season ticket holders are getting from reselling their tix either through NFL ticket exchange or elsewhere. This year, it appears some teams are willing to pocket that additional coin if you return your tix. Sure, there is some risk to this due to the pandemic. Perhaps these clubs feel that is an acceptable risk. Maybe they know something we do not.

Vera Lynn

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/29306665/league-commissioners-appear-espn-sportscenter-special-return-sports-monday All major US sports but since Goddell will be there putting it here instead of OTW.

I believe that 99% of people in the profession in which I work are honest. But they have to be as there is audit trail documenting their input and actions. If they are found to perform something incorrectly or provide a reason that is inaccurate then they are immediately dismissed. I have seen this occur but it is rare.

Item c “Clubs must reconfigure locker rooms to permit six (6) feet of space between each player (By using every other locker or adding additional lockers) where possible. Each player must have individual space designated to store his belongings, without comingling, if locker space is unavailable.” Notice the qualifier “where possible”. It seems most teams at initial camp start when there are 90 players could accommodate this by leveraging the Visitor’s locker room.

Bought my flights to the opener last night. It’s been a tradition with some college buddies for the 4 of us to attend the Jets @ Bills as 2 are Jets fans and the tailgate and atmosphere in Buffalo far exceeds that in NJ. One of my Jets buddies was transitioned off a ventilator last week after 19 days in a downstate hospital. He is doing well and has been moved to a rehab facility near White Plains and expects to attend.

Not a vacation but flying Fri-Sun this weekend from RIC-BUF to visit my parents. Will be extra safe when visiting them with PPE & proper distancing, i booked my flights on an Embraer 145 (small jet) with a single row, alley, double row. I selected all my seats in the single row. I just do not trust airlines will not sell the seat next to me if I selected a double seat row. Right now I see 8, 10, 12, 7 other people on those flights. The 145 holds 50 passengers.

Thx for this. I did not include it in my original post as it was vehicle based but this is the year for a solar project as federal tax incentives are 26%. It will be 22% next year & then gone. Ordinarily, this is true but still TBD with FSD (full self driving) and V2G (vehicle to grid: credit to your energy provider...present in the Tesla & Powerwall API). FSD price will increase over time as Musk has already stated. In addition, there will be opportunities to generate income from an FSD vehicle when not in use.

Hi all, I am interested if feedback on Electronic Vehicles and will be particular to Tesla since they seem to be ahead of other competitors. My wife and I took a Model 3 for an hour spin from a local dealer and we really enjoyed it. Good pickup and a heavy, solid vehicle. We even placed it in semi-autonomous mode and mapped a destination and watched as it slowed down when a car veered in front of us, changed lanes, and then pulled off the exit but it prompted me to turn the signal on. Keeping hands on the wheel is necessary or it gets disengaged. I enjoy driving and have a 6 speed manual that is great to drive when there is no traffic. But I would like to swap out an internal combustion car for another vehicle and strongly considering Tesla. I want a car that will be dependable for a long time. The long-range covers nearly the distance I would like. There are plenty of charging stations around and the new V3 Superchargers are now ramping up for deployment. These will add 75 miles in 5 mins so a 15 min stop will add 200 miles. I live in VA but have Bills season tickets and my parents and sisters live in WNY. I want to autonomously drive there when it is available. Though I enjoy driving sometimes, there are other things I would rather be doing like having a cocktail and relaxing. Maybe it's another 1-2 yrs but I welcome the change. Neat tool; Enter your Tesla vehicle and starting and ending points and it will tell you where to stop to charge and for how long. I have used Buffalo for this and shows a stop after 3-4 hours so one stop for 30 mins on the way is fine for bio brake, munchies and leg stretch. https://www.tesla.com/trips Teslas are expensive but there is no scheduled maintenance as no belts, oil. spark plugs, etc. so some cost savings there. The car has a 4 yr 120k warranty but there are some Tesla drive trains with a million miles so not worried about warranty that much. With regenerative braking, the brake pads should be good for 100-150k miles so additional savings there. Petrol prices are low now but they will rise again and the cost/mile should be much less with electricity instead of gas. An issue is battery wear. I was considering waiting for Tesla's lithium-iron-phosphate battery technology but that may be 2-3 years away. That is their million-mile battery. It appears these batteries will be less expensive to manufacture so swap my batteries out in 5-7 years for what should be a reasonable cost. More recent news on Tesla batteries here: https://www.eenews.net/stories/1063234625 If I do this, I may double-up and add solar and Tesla's Powerwall for my house which would also assist in charging the vehicle (using solar for charge rather than Powerwall). This is a separate topic though. Btw - I do not own Tesla stock but wish I did. Any Tesla or other EV owners with input? Lots of smart people on this board with good insight so welcome your feedback. Thanks

Man Wh0re?

Probably the same reason my sister canceled her daughter’s wedding reception in early Sept. Just only immediate family in Sept. for a small wedding. There are some 60+ aged people & other high risk attendees that do not wish to fly or travel and be placed in a risky situation. The wedding reception has been rescheduled for 2021.