Info and updates for friends and Loved Ones—We’re just about into a NEW YEAR!! Vaccines are all the rage, but if you were paying attention, it was pretty clear that vaccines are not going to FIX the PANDEMIC in a hurry. Really, they won’t be making a big difference for months. Months!! And to quote the Eagles, “There’s a New Kid in Town -I don’t want to hear it!!” (I’m not talking about Joe.) Sorry, viruses mutate, and there’s one COVID variant that seems to be MORE contagious – although so far, probably no more deadly. We don’t know yet if the vaccines will protect us from the new guy, but probably.

“Things” – meaning, people, friends, loved ones, businesses big and small, are going to be having a very hard time at least into the summer of 2021. Be patient. Find peace. Seek stillness. Practice your T’ai Chi. All you need to know is in my previous Covid updates: wash hands, wear a mask, social distance, isolate, and quarantine if you’re sick or exposed to someone who is, and test – but don’t rely on tests because you can be sick and contagious for 3-5 days before you test positive.

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Covid-19 Vaccines – The latest news and resources about the coronavirus vaccines to help you better understand and navigate the path to life after the pandemic. — Read on www.nytimes.com/spotlight/coronavirus-vaccine

Covid Vaccine Rollout and Where Research Fell Short, “Fresh Air”, NPR Interview (Podcast) overcast.fm/+Ys_kvI_nU

After the Vaccine: Sore Arm, Yes. Headache, Maybe. Regrets, No. – Here is what some of the first Americans to be vaccinated against Covid-19 are saying about how they felt afterward, with some side effects but no second thoughts. — Read on www.nytimes.com/2020/12/28/us/vaccine-first-patients-covid.html

Here’s Why Vaccinated People Still Need to Wear a Mask – The new vaccines will probably prevent you from getting sick with Covid. No one knows yet whether they will keep you from spreading the virus to others — but that information is coming. 2020/12/08— Read on www.nytimes.com/2020/12/08/health/covid-vaccine-mask.html

Vaccinated? Show Us Your App – The New York Covid-19 health pass apps could help reopen businesses and restore the economy. They could also unfairly exclude people from travel and workplaces.
12/13/2020 — Read on www.nytimes.com/2020/12/13/technology/coronavirus-vaccine-apps.html

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TESTS— Testing is becoming more readily available and convenient.

Remember:
1) Testing is no substitute for being careful—washing, wearing a mask, social distancing. It only indicates your state at the time the sample was taken. You may have been exposed and infected since then.
2) Antibody Tests don’t mean much—A positive on an anti-body test doesn’t mean that you won’t get Covid (again), nor, that you are not currently spreading the virus. A negative doesn’t mean that you never had Covid.The jury is out on this.
3) All Tests have “false positives” and “false negatives” – pay attention to your symptoms (if any).

Try the CastLight Testing Site Locator tool. This looks like it should be a CDC tool, but I can only find it on my New Jersey State web site. Enter your location and it provides a map and summary of testing locations, including if screening is required, and if “regular lab testing”, “rapid testing”, and if antibody testing is available. I located testing sites in Nevada, and I live in New Jersey, so try this tool, no matter where you live!!

So why isn’t this tool on the CDC site? They’ve been pretty devastated by the anti-science morons of the Trump Administration who didn’t believe that a federal government is supposed to protect all its people, and preferred to push the responsibility and cost onto the states… This will improve once the Biden administration gets moving.

In my county (Hunterdon), the Health Department offers free, “Test At Home” saliva kits available to all qualified residents over the age of six. They send you a kit, you complete the sample using a remote telehealth visit with Vault Health. Results are sent to you within 2-3 days after they receive your sample. You are still looking at 7 or more days, unless you already have the kit ready to go. But you don’t have to leave your house! That’s in my county—check with your local Health Department.

Labcorp Home Test Kit —AFAIK, anyone in the US can order one. You have to pay for it – so check with your insurance first.

Walmart and CVS offer drive-thru and other testing options. Expect at least 3-4 days after you test to get results. Some CVS’s offer “rapid testing”, but these are few-and-far-between, and I’m not sure how to identify them in advance. I scheduled on a Thursday for the next available test, tested at CVS on a Saturday and got results late on Tuesday. Your results may vary.

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They’re Here…. What do we know about the two new Covid-19 variants in the UK? One appears to have arisen in Kent, the other brought in from South Africa. Both are highly transmissible 2020/12/23— Read on www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/23/what-do-we-know-about-the-two-new-covid-19-variants-in-the-uk

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Covid: Post Exposure Anti-body Protection Trialed, BBC, Think of it as a “morning after” medication – for someone exposed to Covid. Read on: www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55438758

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Millions go hungry as America reels from pandemic’s effects—Community groups say widespread unemployment has driven surge in hunger – and the holiday presents another challenge — Read on www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/dec/24/hunger-surges-as-americans-reel-from-pandemics-effects

Coronavirus Failures: “Like a Hand Grasping’: Trump Appointees Describe the Crushing of the C.D.C. 12/16/20—Read on www.nytimes.com/2020/12/16/us/politics/cdc-trump.html

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Happy New Year!! Stay Healthy and #WearAMask

— Christo