Extension of Farmer’s Market schedule – How to handle Halloween? – Hesitation in taking a COVID vaccine when developed – The virus in Poland – The imminent demise of The Strand – Evening statistics
I went to the Farmer’s Market, the last one to be held this year, or so I thought. In the past they began in May and ended in October. However, as I found out, this year the season has been extended for three weeks in November, as part of the effort to ensure continual economic activity. It certainly is convenient; it is very pleasant, for instance, to be able to buy pickling cucumbers (which are the ideal size for including in pack lunches to bring along on hikes) without worrying about their spoiling so rapidly in the manner that packaged cucumbers from the supermarket do.
There is some confusion as to what to do about Halloween this year. Normally I have candy on hand for trick-or-treaters, but this year I’m reluctant to open the door to interact with numbers of parents and children, and for that matter parents are reluctant to go from door to door with their children. The risk of infection is not great, but the general attitude seems to be: why take unnecessary chances? I suppose I can put out a bowlful of candy with a note asking those who venture out for the evening to take one portion only and leave some for the others, but that hasn’t worked out very well in previous years when I’ve not been at home on Halloween evenings, and there’s no reason to suppose that this year will be any different in that respect. There generally is at least one teenager roaming on his own who will grab anything that he can get.
A recent survey in the U.K. the U.S., and Spain explored the issue of vaccine hesitancy. This is not the same as anti-vaccination; people simply are reluctant to accept a new vaccine without any proven record of success. I myself am among these. Should a vaccine be completed and approved by the FDA, I will not be rushing to take it. I will wait some months in order to obtain sampling data as to whether or not its side effects are potentially dangerous. With an aggressive development schedule such as that for the COVID virus vaccine, such side effects are more likely to occur. It seems that my attitude is far from unique; of those who responded to the survey, only 46.8% said that they would completely agree with FDA recommendations.
Yet another national leader has become infected. Poland’s President Andrzej Duda tested positive for the virus today; he says that he has no symptoms but has placed himself in quarantine. As is the case with many other countries in Europe, the recent spikes in the virus after a relative flattening of the curve during the summer has strained Poland’s hospital system to the breaking point. The government is preparing to open field hospitals but it is not sure where it will find the doctors and nurses to staff them. It has also instituted new restrictions, although it has not gone so far as to impose a complete lockdown.
Another economic casualty is looming as a result of the COVID virus. The iconic Strand bookstore in New York, which is nearly a century old and has survived crises such as the Great Depression, World War II, and e-commerce challengers, may be defeated by the virus. Revenues have declined by 70% this year and the owners have said that they have reached a point at which continuing to operate is no longer feasible. Independent bookstores generally have undergone great economic stress even before the virus began. Of the 48 bookstores that used to be neighborhood known as “Book Row,” only the Strand remains. An online campaign has begun to save the bookstore; one can only hope that it will succeed.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 42,913,857; # of deaths worldwide: 1,154,282; # of cases U.S.: 8,824,114; # of deaths U.S.: 230,045. India at one point was threatening to overtake our case count and become the country with the greatest number of COVID cases in absolute numbers (though still well below our incidence rate, on account of its much larger population), but that has changed in recent weeks. Several days of increases well over 70,000 apiece have pushed us firmly into first place with no likelihood of being challenged for the title for some time to come. Our case count now exceeds India’s by nearly 1,000,000. Peru is the only nation with a population over 10,000,000 whose incidence rate exceeds our own.