(Painting by Julia)
It is the dawn of a new week and month, so here we go:
Covid did not die out; it mutated. The most infectious mutation yet, called the delta variant, is rapidly seeking out and finding the remaining pools of unvaccinated people and making many of them ill.
Some will die, hopefully not very many, but all will serve as a Petri dish for the virus to keep mutating. Vaccinated people will not get sick except in rare cases but even without symptoms we can easily spread it to the unvaccinated.
So we're in for a new surge this fall and winter. And the next variant, not delta, is probably the one to fear, though the drug companies will very likely be able to produce new vaccine boosters quickly enough to protect the vaccinated from that mutation as well.
Given the reluctance in rich countries -- and the inability in poor countries -- of substantial numbers of people to get vaccinated, we will now face a future with two broad classes of people in the world: The ones who will escape this disease as it evolves and those who will not.
Those of us who are and will remain vaccinated through it all are the ones who will now face a gnarly moral dilemma. If we mask up, socially distance, and practice all of the behavior we've learned from over the past year and a half of the pandemic, we might be able to reduce the spread of the disease to those who are not and will not be vaccinated.
We could agree to return to remote working, remote schooling, no socializing, no crowds at sports games, no concerts, no gatherings outside of nuclear family groups and on and on to try and optimize the chances of the unvaccinated to escape illness and death.
In other words, we could choose to halt our return to normal life, or we can choose to allow the chips to fall where they may.
I aspire to be as moral a human being (no wisecracks please) and I can appreciate the argument against going forward because of the risks to the unvaccinated. And I love my fellow human beings, regardless of how they feel about vaccines, masks, or Donald Trump, among other topics.
But in this case I'm firmly with those who say let the chips fall where they may.
***
Enjoying our freedom to get a meal indoors at a restaurant on Sunday, my three youngest and I (all vaccinated of course) shared brunch at the Bernal Star, a favorite local spot.
Also on Sunday for the first time I got to see the piece (above) my 22-year-old painted for her graduation thesis project earlier this year.
Great work, Julia!
THE HEADLINES:
* Experts predict summer virus surge will get worse before it gets better (WP)
* U.S. will not lock down despite surge driven by Delta variant, Fauci says (Reuters)
* ‘It’s Nowhere Near Over’: A Beach Town’s Gust of Freedom, Then a U-turnProvincetown, Mass., the quirky community at the tip of Cape Cod, thought it was safe to return to prepandemic partying. It wasn’t. (NYT)
* Vaccinated people are ready for normalcy — and angry at the unvaccinated getting in their way (WP)
* Inside a Covid I.C.U., Hopes Fade as Patients Surge In -- Doctors and nurses in a Florida hospital thought the onslaught of coronavirus admissions had ended. Now they need more intensive care beds. (NYT)
* The U.S. is wasting vaccine doses, even as cases rise and other countries suffer shortages. (NYT)
* Who Are the Unvaccinated in America? There’s No One Answer.(NYT)
* As Covid Cases Rise All Over U.S., Lower Vaccination Rates Point to Worse Outcomes (NYT)
* When masks become trash (WP)
* Short of the Mandate They Crave, Military Leaders Race to Vaccinate Troops(NYT)
* Tech Startup Financing Hits Records --Hedge funds, mutual funds and pension funds are investing heavily in startups, leading to higher valuations and more leverage for company founders. (WSJ)
* 100-year-old former death camp guard to go on trial in Germany -report (Reuters)
* The Enemy Within -- The making and unmaking of James Baldwin (New Yorker)
* The U.S. will cover cost of testing unvaccinated federal workers.(NYT)
* ‘It Looked Like an Atomic Bomb’: Surveying the Bootleg Fire’s Devastation(NYT)
* Africa's most populous city is battling floods and rising seas. It may soon be unlivable, experts warn (CNN)
* Devastation Grips California as Dixie Fire Burns The Dixie Fire continued to burn through Northern California at an alarming rate as firefighters struggled to contain the strong blaze amid record-breaking temperatures.(NYT)
* Biden Promised to Restore the Iran Nuclear Deal. Now It Risks Derailment.
Trump Has Built War Chest of More Than $100 Million(NYT)
* Stranded Killer Whale Survives With Help of Good Samaritans Rescuers and wildlife officials kept it cool and wet while waiting for a rising tide. The orca returned to sea about six hours after it was spotted on the rugged shores of an Alaskan island. (NYT)
* His campaign is over. But Trump’s political groups are still spending donor money at his properties. (WP)
* ‘The Jetpack Guy Is Back’: Federal aviation officials said they, along with the F.B.I., were investigating the report of a person in a jetpack flying over Los Angeles.(NYT)
* In his first game with the San Francisco Giants, slugger Kris Bryant hit a home run. The Giants continue to have the best record in Major League Baseball at 66-39. (MLB.com)
* Child Entertained For 5 Minutes By Plastic Toy That Will Take 1,000 Years To Biodegrade (The Onion)
***
"Let the Chips Fall"
I'm finding that I'm spending most of my time
Wondering where she goes the rest of the time
But tonight I will find out for once and for all
Tonight I will follow her and let the chips fall
So let the chips fall let them fall where they may
My moment of truth is fast on its way
Wondering where she goes the rest of the time
But tonight I will find out for once and for all
Tonight I will follow her and let the chips fall
So let the chips fall let them fall where they may
My moment of truth is fast on its way
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