Assorted content to end your week.
- Jeremy Samuel Faust, Harlan Krumholz and Rochelle Walensky write about the false - and dangerous - assumption that COVID-19 would pose few risks for young adults.
- David Cyranoski examines how restaurants and other crowded businesses have proven to be regular transmission grounds for the coronavirus, while pointing out how occupancy limits can help to avoid that outcome. But CBC News reports on Dale MacKay's recognition that restaurants and their employees are likely far better off being supported through public relief, rather than having to keep working at limited capacity while increasing the risk of catching or spreading COVID-19.
- Rosa Saba reports on the confusing information given to many Canadians who applied for the CERB and are now receiving CRA warning letters threatening to retrench what little support they've had through a pandemic. Jolson Lim reports on Jagmeet Singh's push for forgiveness for self-employed people caught in a lack of distinction between net and gross income, while Melanie Doucet and Rachel Gouin call for amnesty for former foster children who applied in order to have some income after aging out of care. But Catherine Cullen reports on the Libs' refusal to offer any relief to people who applied based on the advice of the government.
- Meanwhile, Yves Engler weighs in on the Libs' concurrent refusal to relax intellectual property restrictions to allow less wealthy countries to have access to COVID-19 vaccines within a reasonable period of time.
- Finally, Mike De Souza and Julia Wong report on the Alberta Energy Regulator's warnings that the province's oil industry was polluting land and water - and recklessly failing to set money aside to remediate it - long before the coronavirus hit. And Sharon Riley asks what happens now that leaking for tar sands tailings ponds is becoming common knowledge as the sector faces being wound down.
Transmission of the UK mutant strain is now the context to try to limit. I estimate about 3 months before it goes viral. It may be 2030 Covid gives you .25 better survival odds with the 2020 affliction rather than the vaccine. But it still appears to be a race to stamp out the mutant; it is the equivalent of opening up (SD-ed) schools, colleges and smaller sporting events. It is already in at least two dozen nations. I suggest the effort be to vaccinate and treat where it is, only if the location is practising good SD-ing. But it is to be assumed spreading and bubbling up in many places; the Trade supply chains and infrastructures of nations exposed to workers recently in other jurisdictions, is the best way to keep it from becoming entrenched in India or the Midwest. I've sent milk to Mexico via rail and received birdseed; those supervisors at least need to be vaccinated. Lawyers aren't essential, but power utility equipment is.
ReplyDeleteI suggest trade and industry essential workers where there is the danger of fluid spread (on the clipboard) or aerosols, be vaccinated before grocery clerks and obese 55 year olds. The UK should be vaccinated before the USA or Canada for said groups but perhaps industry and key trade, should go first. We will need a nanoparticle university research base at some point; they're essential too. The weakness here is one shot might somehow trigger a mutation again if infected, and there is little high quality testing capacity. Have to be ready to rapidly ramp up mutation testing and vaccines within a two hours trucking supply chain of a newly hit city.