Snow threatens to delay some vaccine deliveries
FEMA opens mass vaccination sites in hard-hit California
FEMA opened its first COVID-19 mass vaccination sites Tuesday, setting up in Los Angeles and Oakland as part of an effort by the Biden administration to get shots into arms more quickly and reach minority communities hit hard by the outbreak.
Snowy and icy weather across much of the country, meanwhile, forced the cancellation of some vaccination events and threatened to disrupt vaccine deliveries over the next few days. Houston’s public health agency lost power and had to scramble to give out thousands of shots before they spoiled.
The developments came as the vaccination drive ramps up.
The U.S. is administering an average of about 1.67 million doses per day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At the same time, deaths are down sharply over the past six weeks, and new cases have plummeted.
Nearly 39.7 million Americans, or about 12% of the U.S. population, have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 15 million have gotten both shots, the CDC said.
The administration is increasing the amount of vaccine sent to states to 13.5 million doses per week, a 57% increase from when Biden took office nearly a month ago, White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced.
Psaki also said the administration is doubling to 2 million doses per week the amount of vaccine being sent to pharmacies across the country as part of a program to improve access in neighborhoods.
Deaths are running about 2,400 per day on average, down by more than 900 from their peak in mid-January. And the average number of new cases per day has dropped to about 85,000, the lowest in 3 ½ months. The overall U.S. death toll is at more than 487,000.
In the early morning in Los Angeles, several dozen cars were already lined up with people sitting inside reading newspapers and passing the time, a half-hour before the 9 a.m. opening of the country’s first mass vaccination site run with assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Troops in camouflage fatigues stood around the sprawling parking lot at California State University, Los Angeles, where some 40 white tents were erected and dozens of orange cones put in place to guide traffic.
The site, set up in heavily Latino East L.A. as part of an effort to reach communities that have suffered disproportionately from the coronavirus, aims to vaccinate up to 6,000 people a day. Another such site opened at the Oakland Coliseum, near working-class Black and Latino neighborhoods.
Hard-hit California has overtaken New York state for the highest death toll in the nation, at over 47,000.
The Los Angeles vaccination site is “proximate to a community that has been disproportionately impacted by this pandemic,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said. “The effort here is to address that issue forthrightly.”
The Biden administration intends to establish 100 such federally assisted vaccination sites nationwide in cooperation with state authorities.
Elsewhere around the country, the coronavirus put a big damper on Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The French Quarter’s Bourbon Street, where the rowdiest and bawdiest partying usually takes place, was blocked off with police barricades, and bars were ordered closed.
“It’s hard to wrap my head around it,” New Orleans lawyer Dave Lanser, wearing a luminescent green cape and a black mask with a curved beak, said as he looked up and down a nearly empty Bourbon Street.
“I don’t think there’s a way to safely do it this year,” he said. “So, I support canceling the parades, closing the bars, all that kind of stuff. It’s just kind of the reality of it.”
Mardi Gras crowds last year were blamed for a severe outbreak of COVID19 in Louisiana.
Snow, ice and bitter cold forced the cancellation of vaccinations in places such as Memphis, Tennessee, and Missouri.
Houston’s Harris County rushed to dispense more than 8,000 doses of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine after a public health facility lost power early Monday and its backup generator also failed, authorities said. The shots were distributed at three hospitals, Rice University and the county jail.
“It feels amazing. I’m very grateful,” said Harry Golen, 19, a sophomore who waited for nearly four hours with his friends, much of it in the frigid cold, and was among the last people to get the shots — which otherwise wouldn’t have reached students until March or April.
More than 400,000 additional vaccine doses due in Texas now won’t arrive until at least Wednesday, officials said.
The Biden administration said the severe weather is expected to disrupt shipments from a FedEx facility in Memphis and a UPS installation in Louisville, Kentucky. Both serve as vaccine shipping hubs for a number of states.
Dear Amy: My parents are in their late-50s. They live in their own home nearby. Their marriage has been rocky for many years. They seem to stay together mostly for financial reasons.
My husband and I have been very strict about contact since the pandemic started, especially because we had a new baby born last year.
My mom helps out by providing child care so that I can keep working. She wants to be extra careful for the sake of our household, as well as her own.
The problem is that my father thinks COVID-19 is a joke. He won’t socialdistance or wear masks unless he is forced to.
We stay away from him and won’t visit their house, but I’m still incredibly worried for my mom’s health! She wears a mask whenever she’s with me or the baby, and sometimes even in her own home.
I feel so helpless. I’ve begged her to come stay with us, but she doesn’t want to let him feel like he “won” the house.
I honestly don’t even care if my father gets sick, but I’m very worried about what his behavior could do to my mom. What can I do to deal with my father?
— Very Concerned Daughter
Dear Daughter: You cannot control your father. If he doesn’t believe the CDC or pay attention to the various spikes and real risks of this virus, he’s not going to listen to you. Your only leverage is access to your baby, and he doesn’t seem interested in seeing the child.
If your mother is extremely concerned about her (and your) health, and yet won’t live with you because she doesn’t want your dad to “win the house,” then I’d say that her health concerns aren’t actually paramount.
If she is worried about her legal rights to the marital property if she left the home for an extended period, it would be wisest for her to consult with a lawyer.
The good news is that because of their broken relationship, your parents very likely keep their distance from each other while in their home. Your mother is observing safe COVID-19 practice while she is with you. All of you should continue to guard your own health.
If you truly believe that your mother is placing her own health (and yours) at enhanced risk by living with your father, you should not ask her to come into your home until she can receive a vaccine.
Your family is exemplifying the challenges and compromises that most families have been facing. Worrying does not help. Mitigating your risks does.
Dear Amy: I have a woman friend whose lease is up at the end of the month. She asked about moving in with me. I’m retired, never married, and we have gone out about three times as friends, but I can see spending the rest of my life with her (she is 20 years younger).
The house I own is small and I have a male housemate, also retired, living in one of the bedrooms. The other bedroom is for his home-based business.
There isn’t any place for her to sleep, except in my bed.
I don’t know much about her. She has an ex-boyfriend who seems to bother her, which is one reason she wants to move. She is also filing for divorce from her husband in another country.
We haven’t been intimate yet, but we both want to be. My life would really change if she lived here.
I don’t know if just being friends and sleeping in the same bed without being intimate will work, while we are still getting to know each other. Your thoughts?
— Wondering
Dear Wondering: On the one hand: Nope. No, no, no.
On the other hand, maybe the pandemic has prevented you from attending live theater. Allowing this stranger into your home (and your bed) would be your guaranteed ticket to nonstop drama.
If you do decide to let her live in your home, please research the laws in your state regarding eviction beforehand.
Dear Amy: I agree with your response to “Upset” who got jealous when her husband Googled attractive personalities he saw on television.
Might I add what my father-in-law used to say about it: “It doesn’t matter where you get your appetite, as long as you come home for dinner.”
— Wise Guy
I like it!