A dry ice shortage is something that can be handled between 1/20 and whenever the vaccine is actually ready to ship. That’s a problem that is solvable with cash 99 times out of a hundred. Just because Trump’s people are totally incapable of doing logistics doesn’t mean the Biden people can’t. This really is just a matter of telling the people who do stuff like this normally to handle it instead of trying to figure out how Jared’s friends can do it for a stupid markup.
Keeping stuff cold is a hard problem… but it’s a long ago solved hard problem. If you have to you divert dry ice from what it normally gets used for to vaccine storage/transport then so be it. Capitalism makes that easy, you just offer 400% of the market rate for dry ice and watch everyone sell their stockpile to you immediately. If 400% doesn’t get it done you can go to 300,000% if that’s what it takes to make the dry ice worth more than whatever they were using it to ship.
One thing that seems to be slipping through the cracks in the US media is lots of other countries have ordered doses of the Pfizer vaccine. When they say they can have 1 billion doses (500m full treatment regimens) by the end of 2021 that is for a lot of countries not just here. Unless some of these other vaccines pan out we probably won’t have enough vaccine for every man woman and child in the US to take it until 2022.
The committee has decided to nominate this guy cause he has an R next to his name and the Michigan legislature has been pretty shitty in Covid response, suing to stop Whitmer from using emergency powers to limit the spread resulting in much unnecessary death.
Here’s an article by the person they interview so people don’t have to listen:
But let’s be clear about what this Pfizer study shows so far: For 90 percent of the volunteers who got the vaccine (as opposed to a placebo), SARS-CoV-2 infection did not occur for a study period of seven days.
Seven days. Nothing more is known.
If we assume that Pfizer’s vaccine is a home run, mass immunization offers huge hurdles. The product is unlike any vaccine ever used, for any disease. What is actually injected is messenger RNA (mRNA)—the genetic blueprint for protein production—triggering human cells to manufacture millions of copies of the spike protein that protrudes from the surface of SARS-CoV-2 viruses. As those spike proteins circulate in an immunized person’s body, they hopefully make antibodies and other immune system components to fight it off. Thus, the mRNA triggers production of decoys that train the immune system to “see” the virus if it arrives in the body and destroy it.
But mRNA is very unstable. To prevent breakdown, it must be stored right up until the time of injection at a temperature of at least -103 degrees Fahrenheit—well below anything a standard freezer unit can manage. Few health departments, hospitals, or doctors’ offices currently have stockpiles of dry ice or ultrafreezers that can manage to consistently hold temperatures that low, and none have piles of portable units that can do the job. Dry ice in coolers could do the job, but the world is facing a shortage in pure carbon dioxide, which becomes dry ice when frozen.
The podcast goes more in depth into the distribution hurdles. They sound signficiant.
I don’t think the technology used to generate dry ice is that complicated. It just takes the collective will and the Defense Production Act to get the job done.
Seems like it may be easier to bring the people to the vaccine rather than bringing the vaccine to the people. I’d consider having one or a few central locations in each state where the vaccine is properly chilled and then bussing in people to take it.
So this kid in our warehouse called in 6am Monday to say her partner had woken up feeling crap and running a fever. She said they were going to get tested and would let us know.
So far so good, but because he was showing symptoms they had to stay at home and the NHS would send tests out. Test arrived Tuesday - sent them straight back, still waiting for results.
Still no idea if I need to arrange tests for the rest of the staff - it’s fucking pathetic
We will if based on excess deaths (a more true number) but probably not the official number as of 12/31 (but should be adjusted upwards in later next year when they adjust based on excess deaths like they do for the flu)
It seems like designating 20ish conference centers in major cities is the most feasible way to distribute the Pfizer vaccine. We need a more traditional vaccine for rural areas.
Indianapolis mayor just announced new restrictions along with full school closures.
“ Here’s what we learned from Hogsett and Caine on Thursday regarding Marion County:
Hogsett began: “The data has clearly shown numbers that are trending in the wrong direction. And in recent days our positivity rate has quickly risen to and above the 10% threshold that Dr. Caine has previously said would require additional mitigation measures.”
Effective Sunday at midnight, indoor capacities will be reduced to 25% for bars and entertainment venues. Outdoor capacity is allowed to remain at 100%.
Restaurant capacity can operate at 50%. Self-service buffets and salad bars are banned. Maximum party size at tables is reduced to six.
All non-essential hospitality and entertainment businesses must close at midnight.
Special or seasonal events, like concerts, festivals, wedding receptions and sporting events, are limited to 25% capacity. Those events may include more than 50 people only if the event has an approved safety plan.
All social gatherings are limited to 25 people or fewer.
Religious services will remain limited to 75% indoor capacity.
Libraries, funeral homes, swimming pools and food courts in shopping malls are all reduced to 50% indoor capacity.
Cultural venues, music venues and museums are reduced to 25% capacity.
Gyms and fitness studios, including private clubs, are reduced to 25% indoor capacity.
Marion County will require a negative test within 72 hours for any visitation at a long-term care facility.
Hogsett called the new restrictions “heartbreaking” for the city but said the reports of coronavirus deaths are also heartbreaking. “This statewide surge shows no sign of stopping. Just yesterday Marion County reported more than 700 new cases.”
Hogsett said the causes of the surge in Mario County “are likely myriad.” But, he said, we’re seeing a shift of community spread from public places to private homes between extended family and friends. The mayor pleaded with residents to “be safe, wear a mask, avoid crowds and avoid unnecessary trips.”
Hogsett said “the social gatherings you have at your house are just as dangerous,” adding that he knows thousands of people are wrestling with how to handle holiday family gatherings. “I want to be blunt. There is no responsible way to pretend that this Thanksgiving and the ensuing holiday season that follows will in any way be normal.”
Hogsett urged residents to scale back holiday gatherings. “Consider connecting with elder family members or extended family through video chat or through phone calls.” He suggested people eat outside when possible, and to quarantine after traveling. “None of that will be easy,” he said, but added that these decisions could be “life or death” for loved ones. “That’s somber, and I know it is.”
The CARES Act relief money was “transformative, but it’s now gone,” Hogsett said. The mayor called on Congress to “step up to the plate and do what needs to be done to help with this surge in cases” and the negative impact on small businesses.”
