Scotland ruled out as a Presidential retreat – The upcoming inauguration – The WHO’s recommendations for the vaccine – A COVID episode that ends well – Evening statistics
After Joe Biden’s inauguration Donald Trump may go to – where do you suppose? You are right – but that’s not what I was going to say. After the inauguration, then, Trump may go to a number of different places to settle, but Scotland isn’t one of them. Even though he owns property there, Scotland has a lockdown that currently includes, among other restrictions, a ban on international visitors unless they are essential workers. Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s Prime Minister, after expressing an earnest hope that Trump’s travel plans included a departure from the White House, explicitly ruled out his entering Scotland. “We are not allowing people to come into Scotland without an essential purpose right now. And that would apply to him just as it applies to anybody else,” she said. “Coming to play golf is not what I would consider to be an essential purpose.”
Trump has already confirmed that he will not be present at Biden’s inauguration. Biden’s response was to say that Trump’s decision to skip his inauguration is “one of the few things he and I have ever agreed on.” Indeed, in Biden’s position I would be taking active steps to bar Trump’s way if the latter insisted on attending. But Mike Pence will be there, for which gesture Biden has expressed satisfaction. It must be recorded to Pence’s credit that he showed considerable presence of mind during the siege this past Wednesday, never leaving the building at the height of danger (and there was a group among the rioters who had declared their intention to kill him), and resolutely adhering to the procedure that eventually certified the Electoral College votes.
The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE), an advisory group to the World Health Organization, updated its guidance for the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine this past Tuesday. It recommends taking the two doses within 21-28 days of each other and administering the shots in settings where allergic reactions can be treated. Pregnant women are not recommended to take the vaccine yet, since there is not a sufficient amount of safety data on this category. Even in this case, pregnant women in settings where the benefits outweigh the risks (e.g., women in the health care profession) are expected to get the vaccine. Finally, people who have had COVID-19 and recovered should get vaccinated, even though they may have developed a degree of immunity already.
Amid all of the depressing stories related to the virus I have found one that has a happy ending. Mehpara Naqvi, from Bradford in the U.K., came down with COVID while she was pregnant. It was a severe case, and when Naqvi’s blood oxygen levels became dangerously low, she was given the option of delivering the child by C-section towards the end of her seventh month. The physicians at Bradford Royal Infirmary said that the extra energy and oxygen demands the baby was generating and the additional pressure pushing on Naqvi’s lungs could endanger both mother and child, whereas a seven-month-child had good chances of survival in an incubator on the neonatal ward. Naqvi accepted this option; she did not expect to survive herself, but she decided that this option would offer the best chances for her child. The child was delivered, weighing 3 pounds, 5 ounces, and placed in an incubator, while Naqvi remained in an induced coma and was on a ventilator for nine days. However, the child throve in the neonatal care ward, while Naqvi successfully responded to the treatment to clear her lungs to facilitate her breathing. Just a month after the operation, the infant was over 7 pounds while Naqvi recovered. It was a slow process – she had to be assisted in order to sit up and eventually to stand again, but eventually she was strong enough to be discharged. The recovery is not complete; she still struggles to walk significant distances and has spells of breathlessness. “And the biggest thing I think is the brain fog. I forget a lot of things now, but I have hope and I’ve got faith that I will eventually get fully back to normal again,” she said. “I’m just 22. And I was generally healthy, but I got it so badly that it shows it’s not limited to age.”
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 90,051,230; # of deaths worldwide: 1,933,522; # of cases U.S.: 22,696,400; # of deaths; U.S.: 381,427.