Good news, bad news, good news, bad news

It has been a day of Good News, Bad News, Good News and Bad News, all depending on the country. 

UK

In the UK this morning, a 90-year old has become the first person to receive the Covid-19 vaccine in the sanctioned roll-out (as opposed to the clinical trials). This marks the beginning of a vaccination programme that should, by late spring, see enough people vaccinated if not declare the pandemic over, at least to declare that the risk is contained. “Normal life” will be able to resume.

The anti-vax community will avoid vaccination, and will find that they are enjoying ‘stay-cations’ for the coming year. I expect no country will allow them entry (and many airlines will refuse to fly them) if they cannot demonstrate vaccination. That is their right, and I fully support it. But decisions come with consequences, and the result of their stand will be that they will not be allowed to put themselves and others in harm’s way – mostly put others in harm’s way. But it is also to keep them out of harm’s way and reduce their potential burden on the rest of society. If they refuse the vaccine, and then go on holiday and catch the virus, they put others at risk, but they also create an additional unnecessary drain on stretched health services.

Still, this has to go down as a great day. Not the first vaccine day. The Chinese and the Russians are already vaccinating their people, but as they are “not us” then they and their vaccines don’t count. So goes the logic; their vaccines have not been through our testing and trial regimes, and we have not had adequate oversight, so we will not certify, or count their vaccines as safe or acceptable. So, ours is first, yeah.

Amerika

Meanwhile, the US daily new cases have reached a seven-day moving average of over 200,000. And the president, Trump, still doesn’t care, and his people still have rallies and gatherings of hundreds or thousands of people with limited or no masks or distancing. Giuliani is sick, and infected how many people as he stood in courtrooms and posed for selfies with people across Amerika? Now that buffoon is ill and receiving the best care that Amerika can provide. In a civilised society, he would be facing charges of endangerment. Even in Amerika is it illegal for someone to knowingly put others at risk of contagion for deadly deceases. Did he know he had it? Possibly not, but his behaviour represents recklessness at the very minimum. He should be in jail. Well, he should be in jail after he recovers.

Even if he did not know he was infected, he certainly knew his behaviours were dangerous. He knew he had been in contact with infected people (at various Trump events) and therefore should have been taking greater care. Instead, there is video of him, in a courtroom, asking someone sitting next to him to remove her mask “so we can hear you”. 

Yesterday was Pearl Harbor day. More than 2400 Americans were killed In the Japanese attack, and the United States declared war on Japan and Germany. Yesterday the US seven-day moving average number of deaths from Covid-19 reached 2300. Yesterday’s and the day before yesterday’s raw numbers were lower than that, but they were the Sunday and Monday numbers, and we expect those to be lower. 

Meanwhile, there is reporting today that Pfizer actually offered to sell the US government 100 million additional doses of their vaccine last summer. The administration turned them down. Now the US will have the 100 million that it pre-ordered from Pfizer, and the 100 million from Moderna, and will not be able to source additional Pfizer vaccine doses until Pfizer’s existing orders from other clients have been filled.

So between the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine doses, there should be enough to vaccinate around 100 million Amerikans (at two doses per person vaccinated). That is just under a third of the population. 

Instead of focusing on sick and dying Amerikans, Trump rang the governor of Pennsylvania to ask him to overturn the election result and select a republican set of electors. The governor said “no”. The governor of Georgia gave him the same answer. Outside the house of the Michigan Secretary of State, the official who certifies the election for Biden, armed groups gathered and shouted threats. And the president said nothing to stop them while continuing to encourage the lie that the vote was stolen and that there was massive fraud. Fraud that they cannot prove in any court. 

Biden is said to be against pursuing Trump; that it would be bad for the country and would stop the healing that needs to happen. He is wrong. Trump and those that enable him, and those that follow his thinly veiled suggestions to “Liberate Michigan” (from lockdowns, but really from a Democratic governor), they must all face the courts. 

Reuters reports “Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said dozens of armed protesters gathered in a threatening manner outside her home on Saturday evening chanting “bogus” claims about electoral fraud.”

Thugs with guns outside someone’s house protesting the electoral outcome must see consequences. As above, it may be their right, but with the practice of those rights comes consequences. I hope the faces and names of all those ‘protesting’ outside the Secretary of State’s home are published and spread widely. Let them learn that participation in a free society also requires compliance with the norms of that society.

Those that have committed crimes of intimidation should be prosecuted. Those that have smeared the names of good people should be prosecuted. Democracy is not free, and to forgive and forget the actions of those who seek to undermine it will only embolden them for the next time, until they are shooting in the streets; until they are armed at the polling stations, demanding proof that citizens are authorised to vote, and telling people that if they vote the wrong way, they will be visited afterwards.

We’ve seen this before. And it must not be allowed to happen again.

Greece

Thankfully here in Greece, the numbers continue to fall. 

Yesterday there were under 1000 cases for the first time in over a month, and today there were 1250 new cases (well, actually the day before yesterday, and yesterday, but today with when I can see those numbers). Watching them every day can be depressing and frustrating, so it is good to leave it for a few days, then come and take a look, to be either heartened or concerned. Today, heartened is the word.

The seven-day moving average is now at around 1600, down from 2600 two weeks ago. There is a long way to go, but it does seem that things are moving in the right direction. Does this mean opening for Christmas? I’m not confident. They have opened the “Christmas decoration” shops, to allow people to buy the trappings, light and decorations of Christmas, no doubt to give people some hope and happiness at this time. Without that, it would be a very grim Christmas indeed, and that would add to the depression that will be felt by many as January bites. 

Panama

In a blow to progress in Panama, the "Dry Law" has been brought back in for the Panama Province, covering the city and surrounding suburbs. Arijan apparently is the new epicentre of Covid-19 cases. This not a huge surprise, as workers commute from Arijan into the city, often spending 1 to 2 hours on crowded busses. If they are lucky (and 'wealthy') they travel in air-conditioned buses, trapping the air and the virus inside. If they are not, they travel in crowded buses with the window open enjoying the heat and humidity.

Panama cases have climbed back above 2500 per day. This is as bad as its been, and the hopes that the pandemic had passed are shattered with this. 

I guess the summary for the day is that there is bad news, good news, and bad news, with a weighting toward good news.