156 million, 47%, perhaps even 66% of Americans are immune!
Antikythera mechanism:
Another layer learned
The device, found on the
Mediterranean Sea bottom in
2,200-yr-old shipwreck, was
designed well enough to fairly
accurately reproduce the motion
of the Sun and Moon, as well as
the planets Mercury and Venus.
But that leaves out Mars, Jupiter,
and Saturn, which were also
known in antiquity.
X-rays of the almost totally
disintegrated front cover reveal
it accurately calculated the cycles
of Venus and Saturn—462
and 442 years, respectively.
“After considerable struggle,
we managed to match the evidence
in Fragments A and D to
a mechanism for Venus, which
exactly models its 462-year
planetary period relation, with
the 63-tooth gear playing a crucial
role,” said co-author David
Higgon.
There are still plenty of mysteries
surrounding the Antikythera
mechanism, however, such
as whether this latest version
could really have been built
using ancient manufacturing
techniques.
Info: shpr.fyi/antikythera2
Restaurants to 50%
Inslee bestows entire state
with Phase 3 on March 22.
Indoor spaces, like restaurants
and movie theaters, can have
50% occupancy. Up to 400 people
can attend indoor and outdoor
activities, such as concerts
and high school graduations, as
long as physical distancing and
masking is enforced. Outdoor
events with permanent facilities
can have 25% occupancy.
Info: shpr.fyi/waphase3
Yakima Fairground
vaccination site expands
to 1,200 per day
The Federal Emergency Management
Agency announced a
fixed, drive-thru vaccination site
will open March 31 at Central
Washington State Fair Park as
well as mobile vaccination units.
Through this partnership, vaccination
capacity at this location
will expand from approximately
200 vaccines per day to 1,200
vaccines per day between the
drive-thru site and mobile units.
Those seeking vaccinations
should check their phase eligibility
using Phase Finder. Then,
register for an appointment on
Prep-Mod or call 1-800-525-
0127. Proof of eligibility is required,
which may be an employer/
provider letter, work ID
badge or screenshot of Phase
Finder approval.
Info: shpr.fyi/yakfairvacc
Asotin’s Science
Olympiad team
wins championship
ASOTIN — The COVID-19
pandemic may have brought a
lot of activities to a halt, but a
science team at Asotin figured
out a way to catapult to the forefront
of competition.
The school’s Science Olympiad
team, which serves between
25 and 35 kids from fifth
to 10th grades, adapted its program
over the past year by competing
in virtual tournaments, so
students could “travel” online as
far as Boston and remain focused
on a shared goal.
The extra effort paid off.
The Asotin team recently
wrapped up its regional tournament,
featuring 30 teams from
eastern Washington, by placing
first and winning a bid to the
state tournament in April, for
the fourth consecutive year. The
small-town team, which
achieved the top slot in the region
for the first time in school
history, battled against students
from much larger Pullman, Spokane,
Moses Lake and other
schools throughout the area.
Info: shpr.fyi/asotinsci
Single Pill for COVID?
Molnupiravir, was randomly
assigned in various doses among
182 participants across several
medical centers who showed
coronavirus symptoms within a
week of testing positive and
were not hospitalized.
By day five, no one who took
the pill still tested positive for
coronavirus, while 24% of those
who got a placebo drug did.
Info: shpr.fyi/molnupiravir
Virus tolls similar
despite governors’
contrasting actions
Nearly a year after California
Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered
the nation’s first statewide shutdown
because of the coronavirus,
masks remain mandated,
indoor dining and other activities
are significantly limited, and
Disneyland remains closed.
By contrast, Florida has no
statewide restrictions. Republican
Gov. Ron DeSantis has prohibited
municipalities from fining
people who refuse to wear
masks. And Disney World has
been open since July.
Despite their differing approaches,
California and Florida
have experienced almost identical
outcomes in COVID caserates.
How have two states
that took such divergent tacks
arrived at similar points?
California and Florida both
have a COVID-19 case rate of
around 8,900 per 100,000 residents
since the pandemic began,
according to the federal Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention.
Connecticut and South Dakota
are another example. Both
rank among the 10 worst states
for COVID-19 death rates. Yet
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont,
a Democrat, imposed numerous
statewide restrictions over the
past year after an early surge in
deaths, while South Dakota
Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican,
issued no mandates as virus
infections increased.
Excerpted from Associated
Press by David A, Lieb,
Info: shpr.fyi/coviddiffer
A note about the thermometer
above:
The number of Infection &
Recovery (Dark Green) I’ve
used is just the actual number
known and reported by CDC.
However, CDC, Dr. Fauci and
others suspected and reported
that very many additional, originally
perhaps 30% of the U.S.
population, had been infected
and recovered without symptoms,
without even knowing
they were sick or had COVID.
These cannot be not counted.
Probably the same percentage
of those 30% originally estimated
additional infected & recovered
are among the 32%, now
vaccinated so I have reduced the
original 30% unknown recovered
number by the percent vaccinated,
now to 19%.
I have added this 19% of us
who are probably immune as a
lightly colored green section.
This would bring our real total
American immunity to
around 66%- getting close to the
70% herd immunity goal!
This is the reason that the
daily number of new infections
and hospitalizations has
plummeted so drastically and
wonderfully.
With herd immunity,
masks and shutdowns
will prevent few new
COVID infections!
-Dave Bunting