The Coronavirus Vaccine

"I hope the next time I write a personal entry on my blog, it will be to celebrate the ending of the coronavirus pandemic."

The quote above is the last sentence to my previous blog post about this. I would suggest you read it before continuing through this post, which is essentially a Part II of our experience with the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Let's see, where did I leave off? Well, last I wrote to you, we were in the thick of things. However, we had not seen the worst of it yet. Back on July 22, 2020, we had about 4,000,000 total number of reported cases of coronavirus, and just over 142,000 deaths. Here are our current number as of February 11th, 2021:

As you can see, the numbers rose quite dramatically towards the end of the year. If I'm following the news correctly, there are two main reasons for the increase we observed. For one, the virus spread to regions of the country where the pandemic was not taken quite as seriously. Each state had different responses to the virus. The more lenient states saw infection rates rise dramatically as 2020 went on since the infection seemed to start on the coasts and worked inwards. For example, as of February 10th, 2021, North Dakota has the highest rate of infection with 12,887 per 100,000 population out of a total population of 762,062 residents. I have a few sets of friends living in N.D. and they have all said that the state has no restrictions. There were closures when the pandemic first started, but since then, schools have remained open, businesses are back in operation, and masks are encouraged, but not required.

That's not to say that states with stricter COVID guidelines haven't been struggling. California has had one of the strongest responses to the virus, but still saw hospitalization numbers rise to such high rates that the availability of intensive care units in the sunshine state hit 0%.

Which brings me to the second reason why we saw increased numbers: the holidays. By the time Thanksgiving came around, everyone was tired of being stuck at home and not seeing their family. People relaxed and saw people outside of their bubbles for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's hard not to want to see your family after this prolonged event. I get it. I won't shame a single person who chose to risk it. This is also why we are starting to see the numbers drop.

Another reason we are seeing numbers drop is because we are finally getting some vaccines rolled out. I say "finally," but realistically, these things came out fast. Less than one year. Science, in all its uncertainty and glory, made a COVID vaccine in less than a year. TWO vaccines, mind you! Pfizer-BioNTech's and Moderna's vaccines are both already getting injected into the older and more vulnerable Americans all over the country. And there are about a half dozen more vaccines from all around the world that are being cleared by regulators for emergency use. Just for context, it usually takes 5-10 years for companies to develop a vaccine.

As I mentioned, the vaccine is not available to everyone yet. Our state of Washington is distributing the vaccines through a tier-phased system. Right now, high-risk healthcare workers, first responders, long-term care facility residents, and all people 65 years or older are eligible. My parents are getting their second shot tomorrow (the Pfizer vaccine is 2-dose at least 21 days apart). The next tier, which will likely start in spring 2021, will cover 50 years or older. Then 16 years or older with two or more co-morbidities or underlying conditions. Then under 50 years who work in certain congregate settings. By fall, it is expected that everyone else should then be able to get the vaccine.

The story is not over, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We trudge on with life. My end of 2020 and beginning of 2021 was not great. In fact, I would say it was downright miserable. Another big event that did not get much airtime from the news and media was a recent vulnerability found in a popular SolarWinds product. COVID, the Presidential election, and a protest at our nation's capital stole the headlines from this story. Yet, nearly every article you read about this network security incident likens it to a virtual version of the attack on Pearl Harbor. How fitting it is that my grandfather was present and survived the bombing in 1941. I will survive this, too.

Coral has returned to school in a hybrid model of virtual and in-person learning. For the first half of the school day, she attends Zoom classes with her teacher. After lunch, she gets on a bus and goes to her third grade class where she learns with eight of her fellow classmates. Face masks, daily health checks, social distancing, and increased cleaning measures are all in effect at the school. So far, only K-3 have returned to this hybrid model, but I assume the other grades will be following suit, shortly. Parents have the option to send their kids to this hybrid model, or to stick with only online learning.

So, that means Julie is still only doing school from home, but she prefers it. When she's not drawing, writing stories, listening to Porter Robinson, or watching RWBY, she's watching me playthrough Zelda: Breath of the Wild on the Nintendo Switch for the first time. As a non-Zelda fan, I have to say that this game has become one of my favorites of all-time. Since King County is in Phase 2 of re-opening, Julie and Coral have been able to go back to circus class. Restaurants have started to re-open with 25% seating capacity limits.

Perhaps the most exciting news has been an addition to our family. Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip Brownie, or just Chip for short, joined the household a few weeks ago and has brought a lot of joy to the family. He is a young Polish breed rabbit that we got from a 4H rabbit breeder in Oregon. At 2 lbs., he'll stop growing and remain a cute chocolate brown fluff ball of joy. We already love him so much.

The girls start mid-winter break this week. While I have some work to do Monday morning, I will be joining them by also taking some vacation. Not that we have big plans or anything since we just got over a big snowstorm and places are still re-opening, but that's where everything currently stands. At this point, let's hope this nightmare is completely done by fall/winter. Take care.