Pandemic, Week 58 (Back to Reality)

 

This week policeman Derek Chauvin was found guilty of all three counts of murder. He was immediately taken into custody to await sentencing. The Justice Department has subsequently launched a civil investigation into the practice of excessive force by the Minneapolis Police Department. While the verdict was being read, a 16-year-old girl in Columbus, OH was shot and killed by police, who she had called, in response to her attacking another woman with a knife. President Biden met with other foreign leaders on Earth Day at the Leaders Summit on Climate where they announced the US would halve its 2005 level of emissions by 2030 (misguided climate activist, arguing that this doesn't go far enough, protested by dumping cow manure outside the White House). The House passed HR 51, which would make the District of Columbia the 51st state. The Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, took the first powered, controlled flight on another planet this week. On Sunday, 12 European football clubs announced they would form a new "Super League," replacing the current UEFA Championship League. After a massive outcry from fans, the plan was abandoned by Tuesday. Former Vice President Walter Mondale died.

The world hit 147.2 million COVID cases and 3.1 million deaths this week. The US accounted for 32.8 of those million cases and 586,000 deaths. The CDC announced that it was lifting the Johnson & Johnson 10-day pause, and would allow the resumption of vaccinations of the drug immediately with additional risk warnings. 42 percent of Americans have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 28 percent are fully vaccinated (which now includes Allen and I). But while more people are vaccinated, the rates are declining, suggesting we may have reached saturation points in certain parts of the country, who have started decline vaccine shipments.

Our world continued to slowly return to some version of normal. We had Meeting at the Meeting House (though in the garden and masked). We celebrated Makayla's 18th birthday. While Owen had a pause in in-person learning this week (he starts going two days full-time next week), Nora entered Stuart-Hobson for the first time as a middle schooler on Wednesday (for a non-instructional afternoon of tutoring and socialization). She got to go back on Friday for a class meet-up at the field. Allen celebrated Earth Day by watching Biden's Summit while Nora took a more grass-roots approach by making and posting signs encouraging people not to litter. We had the Cluster Auction remotely again, but this time there was at least the possibility of getting to use some of the gift certificates we won.

But the big news is that this week both Allen and I got our second vaccine shots. I had a rough Friday morning (resulting in my calling it a day by noon) whereas Allen mostly just needed some extended napping on Saturday. But having recovered, we're now counting the days until we actually can have a date night outside of the house...

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)