WHY THE SUDDEN NEED FOR A COVID-19 BOOSTER SHOT?

            From Worldometer (new  COVID-19 deaths yesterday):

        DAY  USA  WORLD   Brazil    India    South Africa

June     9    1093     4732         1185       246       82

July    22     1205     7128         1293      1120     572

Aug    12     1504     6556        1242        835     130

Sept     9     1208      6222       1136       1168       82

Oct     21     1225      6849         571        703       85

Nov    25      2304    12025        620        518      118

Dec    30      3880    14748       1224       299      465

Jan     14       4142    15512         1151        189       712              

Feb      3       4005    14265       1209       107      398

          25       2414    10578        1582        119      144

Mar     2        1989      9490       1726       110      194

          31       1115      12301        3950       458       58

April   6         906     11787         4211        631       37

May    4         853     13667         3025     3786      59 

         26         607     12348         2399     3842     101

June    1         287     10637        2346      3205      95

          30        249      8505        2127        991      383

July     7          251      8440         1595        817      411

         28          483    10136          1366       641      520 

Aug     3          516    10057         1238        561      555

            4          656    10120        1118         532      423

          10          657    10078        1183         468      189 

          11         1055    10574         985          511      384

Summary:

• Oh my, the USA is going off the charts:
• We had 158,127 new cases yesterday, with #2 Brazil at 41,017.
• Highest number of new deaths since March.
• Israel had 7943 new cases, but that calculates to 854/million.  The USA?  "Only" 475/million.

What's happening to Israel?  First, their policies seemed to be working, so they loosened up social restrictions.  They have a vaccination rate of around 80%, and we just recently reached 50%.  Second, they were early with vaccinations. But they found out that the Pfizer vaccine's efficacy dropped in half in a few months, then down to 39%.  So they became the first to start booster injections.  It's becoming clear why the White House suddenly ordered the same.  We don't want to become the next Israel.

Three fears are growing.  

• These vaccines might need to be regularly taken, and annually is not enough.  
• Plus, it would be ideal to have them taken nasally.  For one, this virus spreads through the nose.  People are more apt to get boosted if it is not another injection.  
• We will never reach herd immunity with the Delta variant unless medical science can find a better vaccine.

Ray Kamada sent me a link to Michael Tsai (left), a retired virus researcher who blogs through Quora.  Whether the following is medically sound is not known, but Tsai's citing of valid sources indicates that the information he provides is worthy of note.   Read the entire presentation here, beginning with the most recent:

Mitchell Tsai

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Virus researcher at Harvard Medical School in 1980s5h ago

The 95% Pfizer vaccine has dropped to 39%.

A month ago from Israel:

Vaccine effectiveness in preventing both infection and symptomatic disease fell to 64% since June 6, the Health Ministry said. At the same time the vaccine was 93% effective in preventing hospitalizations and serious illness from the coronavirus.

Here are are a couple of graphics which sort of explain themselves:

Also, Israel has developed a COVID-19 rapid recovery drug.

One item of entertainment you've all seen before:

You say, must be some video editing involved.  Nope, read this.

Finally, as you know, I have been eating a lot of vegetables.  Yesterday, I walked on the Ted Makalena Golf Course.  On the way home, to celebrate the success of my diet, I dropped by Zippy's to get their chili-rice bowl, then did something I've been planning to do for decades...try Jollibee's chicken.  I've passed that restaurant on North King Street a thousand times and never stopped.  At home I weighed myself and for the first time in a third of a century saw a number below 150...149.6.  So this zany fast food shopping extravagance was justified.  My meal was international:  chicken from the Philippines, chili-rice from Hawaii, Tabasco from Louisiana and beer from Japan.

Note that I added a salad and threw away the french fries.  I did consume more rice than I normally do in one week.  I might finally add that the Jollibee gravy is exceptional.

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Fred is dissipating; Grace is now a hurricane, today made landfall over the Yucatan, and will re-become a hurricane in the Gulf, then make a second hit between Tampico and Veracruz; while Henri seems poised to become one, but should remain at sea.

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