The Washington Post. Coronavirus Updates.

Important developments in the pandemic.

By Ben Guarino  Email We’ll be off Monday, July 5 for the holiday. We’re also changing how often this newsletter is sent. Starting next week, Coronavirus Updates will arrive every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We hope this will make a richer, more comprehensive briefing that’s easier on your inbox. In the meantime, if you want to know any major coronavirus news as soon as it breaks, sign up for our national news email alerts. As always, The Post’s coronavirus coverage linked in this newsletter is free to access from this email.   The latest The story of President Biden’s Covid-19 Response Team is largely a successful one, as Post reporter Ben Terris documents with this inside look at the White House’s efforts to combat the pandemic. But the Biden administration is coming up against its limits to stop the spread of the coronavirus: The decline in new cases is flattening out, vaccination rates are stalling and the more contagious delta variant has appeared in multiple U.S. cities.  There is now evidence the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine can protect people against the delta variant, the company said in a news release Thursday. Laboratory tests of blood taken from eight people showed strong antibody responses against the variant. Though these results have not yet been peer-reviewed, the data are expected to be published online in the coming days.  “This adds to the robust body of clinical data supporting our single-shot vaccine’s ability to protect against multiple variants of concern,” Johnson & Johnson’s chief scientific officer Paul Stoffels said in a statement. The Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines have fared similarly well against the variant in lab studies, suggesting all three Food and Drug Administration-authorized vaccines should defend against delta.  That variant, which has now spread worldwide, was first identified in India and fueled a severe surge there. India’s official death toll from the pandemic in surpassed 400,000 Friday, though experts say that this figure is unlikely to include all of those who have died from the virus. New cases in India appear to have peaked. Australia is moving aggressively to halt the spread of the virus and the delta variant in particular. Many residents are in lockdown. And Australians attempting to enter their own country face mounting obstacles: Airlines are ceasing flights. Officials are limiting the number of people who are able to enter the country to 3,000 people per week, starting July 14. These restrictions, plus the high costs of airfare and mandated hotel quarantine, have kept some Australians from seeing their families. One dual citizen living overseas called the inability to visit her sons in Melbourne “truly devastating.” Other important news Tourists are making these picturesque French parks so crowded that the destinations’ caretakers have embarked on “de-marketing” campaigns to dissuade more people from visiting. The U.S. economy showed strong signs of recovery in June, adding 850,000 jobs. Average wages jumped, too — the leisure and hospitality sector, in particular, experienced increases in both jobs and wages. Covid wards in the D.C. area are almost empty, and some doctors are taking time off for the first time since March 2020. They credit the vaccines.   Guide to the pandemic Track confirmed cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the U.S. and the spread around the world. U.S. vaccine distribution and delivery, tracked by state. Guides: Finding vaccine appointments | Vaccines | Variants | Masks Submit a question and we may answer it in a future story or newsletter.    Your questions, answered “I contracted the coronavirus in early November 2020. I was very ill but luckily did not have to be hospitalized. Unfortunately, however, I developed a lingering cough that I can’t get rid of. I’ve been to my primary physician who prescribed a cough syrup that is a temporary fix. I have to sleep sitting up or else I have ‘coughing fits.’ Is this a symptom of a ‘long hauler’? Am I stuck with this cough forever or are there doctors treating the aftereffects of coronavirus?” — Irene in Maryland We’re sorry to hear about your persistent cough. Since we’re journalists, not doctors, we’re not in a position to diagnose whether your particular cough is a lingering symptom of covid, also known as long covid. That said: People who experience long covid report a variety symptoms, and, yes, cough can be one of them. The most common post-covid conditions that last for at least four weeks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also include fatigue, difficulty thinking, headache, fever and muscle pain. A severe covid-19 case can cause scarring or other lung damage, which can result in breathing problems even after the virus has been cleared from the body. As for ways to reduce the effects of long covid, anecdotally, a few people have said their persistent covid symptoms were relieved after vaccination. Scientists are still collecting data on this.  There are doctors, too, who are specifically helping people with long covid recover. This week, Scientific American profiled the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s COVID Recovery Clinic, which opened in February. It is one of a few dozen long covid specialty clinics in the United States.  The Chapel Hill clinic is, right now, designed to treat patients over 18 who’ve had covid and persistent symptoms for at least four weeks. “We’ve focused our efforts on people who have a confirmed history of covid so we can better use our resources within the clinic. And we’ve changed the evaluation measures to better target the people we see,” the clinic’s co-director John Baratta told Scientific American.  Studies will continue to follow long covid patients as the worst of the pandemic wanes in the United States. Earlier this year, the National Institutes of Health launched a program to follow these patients as part of a $1.15 billion congressionally funded initiative.  That will help address the many questions surrounding this syndrome, but those results will take time to collect. Some medical experts argue that the country is, in the meantime, ill-prepared to help long covid patients — as two researchers said in the New England Journal of Medicine Wednesday, this “is our next public health disaster in the making.”

Israel will stop killing Muslim assholes when they're all dead, and that's a good thing.

New York Times

International pressure is growing on Israel and the Palestinian militants to halt their 10-day-old conflict.

President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — their second phone call in three days — telling the Israeli leader he “expected a significant de-escalation today on the path to a cease-fire,” administration officials said.

After visiting Israeli military headquarters, Netanyahu said he was “determined to continue this operation until its aim is met.” A senior Hamas official said that he expected a cease-fire agreement within a day or two, while Israeli media has reported that Israeli officials do not expect the bombing to stop until Friday at the earliest.

France and Germany, strong allies of Israel that had initially held back from pressuring Netanyahu, also intensified their push for a cease-fire.

At least 227 people in Gaza have been killed, including 64 children, by Israeli airstrikes. Rockets fired from Gaza have killed at least 12 people in Israel.

I just lost a chess game against some who lives in Brittany France. I looked it up.

Brittany
French Region

France’s northwesternmost region, is a hilly peninsula extending out toward the Atlantic Ocean. Its lengthy, rugged coastline is dotted with beach resorts such as chic Dinard and walled Saint-Malo, built on rock in the English Channel. The Pink Granite Coast is famed for its unusual, blush-hued sand and rocks. Brittany is known for its abundant prehistoric menhirs (a type of megalith). ― Google

Capital: Rennes
Population: 3.329 million

Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis. These comic strips are about when "Rat" decided he wanted to be the President of the United States. This was in October, 2004.

I have used the Black side of the "Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation" thousands of times. It's the best opening for black. The games are always very violent.

Wikipedia - Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation

The Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defence is one of the most respected and deeply studied of all chess openings. Modern Chess Openings calls it the "Cadillac" or "Rolls Royce" of chess openings. The opening is named after the Polish-Argentine grandmaster Miguel Najdorf, although he was not the first strong player to play the variation. Many players have lived by the Najdorf (notably Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov, although Kasparov would often transpose into a Scheveningen).

The Najdorf begins:

1. e4 c5

2. Nf3 d6

3. d4 cxd4

4. Nxd4 Nf6

5. Nc3 a6

Black's 5...a6 aims to deny the b5-square to White's knights and light-square bishop while maintaining flexible development. If Black plays 5...e5?! immediately, then after 6.Bb5+! Bd7 (or 6...Nbd7 7.Nf5) 7.Bxd7+ Nbxd7 8.Nf5, the knight on f5 is difficult to dislodge without concessions.

Black usually plans a queenside minority attack to pressure White's e4-pawn. This is often carried out by means of ...b5, ...Bb7, and placing a knight on c5, or c4 via b6.

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In this game, I defeated France using the Black side of this opening.

https://lichess.org/2Fmqz8zW/black#0

Total Covid-19 Deaths Per People. Japan is winning. China, which created this disaster, is winning.

Today is Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Cinco de Mayo = Fifth of May. "More popularly celebrated in the United States than in Mexico, the date has become associated with the celebration of Mexican-American culture."

Cinco de Mayo is an annual celebration held on May 5. The date is observed to commemorate the Mexican Army's victory over the French Empire at the Battle of Puebla, on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza. Wikipedia

THIS DAY IN HISTORY MAY 05

1862 May 05

Outnumbered Mexican army defeats French at Battle of Puebla

During the French-Mexican War (1861-1867), an outnumbered Mexican army defeats a powerful invading French force at Puebla. The retreat of the French troops at the Battle of Puebla represented a great moral victory for the people of Mexico, symbolizing the country’s ability to defend its sovereignty against a powerful foreign nation.

Benito Juarez and Napoleon III

In 1861, Benito Juarez became president of Mexico, a country in financial ruin, and he was forced to default on his debts to European governments. In response, France, Britain, and Spain sent naval forces to Veracruz to demand reimbursement.

Britain and Spain negotiated with Mexico and withdrew, but France, ruled by Napoleon III, decided to use the opportunity to carve a dependent empire out of Mexican territory. Late in 1861, a well-armed French fleet stormed Veracruz, landing a large French force and driving President Juarez and his government into retreat.

Certain that French victory would come swiftly in Mexico, 6,000 French troops under General Charles de Lorencez set out in May, 1862, to attack Puebla de Los Angeles. From his new headquarters in the north, Juarez rounded up a ragtag force of loyal men and sent them to Puebla.

Zaragoza Defeats French Invaders

Led by General Ignacio Zaragoza, an estimated 2,000—5,000 Mexicans fortified the town and prepared for the assault by the well-equipped French force.

On the fifth of May, or Cinco de Mayo, Lorencez gathered his army and began an attack from the north side of Puebla.

The battle lasted from daybreak to early evening. After Lorencez realized his superior French force was losing far more troops than the Mexicans, he completely withdrew his defeated army.

Battle of Puebla and Cinco de Mayo

Though not a major strategic victory in the overall war against the French, Zaragoza’s victory at Puebla galvanized Mexican resistance, and six years later France withdrew. Later that same year, Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, who had been installed as emperor of Mexico by Napoleon in 1864, was captured and executed by a firing squad.

Puebla de Los Angeles, the site of Zaragoza’s historic victory, was renamed Puebla de Zaragoza in honor of the general. Today, Mexicans (and Mexican Americans) celebrate the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla as Cinco de Mayo, a holiday in the state of Puebla.

I played a chess game against someone in France. He belongs to a lichess.com club. I like their motto: "Never give up!"

[Groupe privé RESERVES AUX MEMBRES DU CEM, et à certains joueurs très proches que NOUS CONNAISSONS DANS LA VRAIE VIE.
Désolé pour les autres, mais il existe d'autres groupes très sympas et actifs sur lichess]
Notre devise: "Never give up!"

[Private group RESERVED FOR MEMBERS OF THE CEM, and for certain very close players that WE KNOW IN REAL LIFE.
Sorry for the others, but there are other very nice and active groups on lichess]
Our motto: "Never give up!"

This is our chess game which I won. I had the White pieces.

https://lichess.org/wCgLUwUL/white#0

SpaceX did it again.

News Alert April 23, 6:01 a.m. EDT

SpaceX launches crew of four on way to space station The flight is the third with astronauts on board for SpaceX in the past year and the first where NASA allowed SpaceX to reuse equipment from previous flights. On board are two American astronauts, one from France and one from Japan. They are scheduled to spend six months at the International Space Station, where they’ll arrive early Saturday. Read more

New York Times. Coronavirus stuff. April 19, 2021.

April 19, 2021

An informed guide to the pandemic, with the latest developments and expert advice about prevention and treatment.

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The New York Times

By Jonathan Wolfe and Amelia Nierenberg

India is facing new lockdowns and oxygen and drug shortages as cases spiral upward. In an effort to block variants, Hong Kong banned flights from three countries and emptied an apartment block. New York State said that some people got too much unemployment money and might have to give it back. Get the latest updates here, as well as maps and vaccines in development.

The U.S. reaches universal eligibility

The United States passed a significant milestone in its vaccine rollout: As of today, all adults in every state, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico are now eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine.

The states had rushed to meet the April 19 deadline set by President Biden two weeks ago, and today the final states — Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont — expanded eligibility.

After a slow start in December, the pace of vaccinations in the U.S. has picked up considerably in recent months. More than 131 million people, or half of all American adults, had received at least one shot as of Sunday, and about 84.3 million people had been fully vaccinated, a third of the adult population. At its current pace, the U.S. will vaccinate 70 percent of its population by mid-June, but experts are warning Americans not to let their guards down. The virus is resurgent and the U.S. is averaging more than 67,000 new cases a day over the past seven days, up from over 54,000 a month ago.

The next phase of the rollout will bring its own challenges. Some scientists and health officials believe that making more people eligible will ultimately get more people vaccinated more swiftly. But others have said they are worried that some of the most vulnerable people, including those 65 and older, may have trouble competing for a shot. About a fifth of that group has not received even one shot.

As the vaccine supply expands, the extent of vaccine skepticism in the country will also come into focus. To combat vaccine hesitancy, the Biden administration is making an intense push today, which officials have likened to a “get out the vote” effort that will roll out on social media and radio and television programs.

Officials are particularly concerned about a rise in vaccine hesitancy as federal health officials pause the use of the Johnson & Johnson dose while regulators examine six cases of rare blood clots among recipients. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel is expected to meet on Friday and make recommendations about the vaccine’s use.

The science behind Covid ‘blah’

A year in, and we are languishing. That’s the academic term for the collective fog we’ve endured for more than a year — trouble concentrating, trouble staying motivated, trouble getting excited about the future.

Languishing isn’t burnout, which is more a lack of energy. It’s not depression, with its lack of hope. Instead, it’s a sense of stagnation, of emptiness, of just-getting-by, a malaise that might be the dominant emotion of 2021.

Adam Grant, a professor of management and psychology at Wharton, suggested we think of languishing as a midpoint between flourishing and depression.

“Flourishing is the peak of well-being: You have a strong sense of meaning, mastery and mattering to others. Depression is the valley of ill-being: You feel despondent, drained and worthless,” Grant writes.

There’s still more research to do, but giving the emotion a name might give us a way to move forward, Grant argues.

“It could give us a socially acceptable response to ‘How are you?’

Instead of saying ‘Great!' or ‘Fine,’ imagine if we answered, ‘Honestly, I’m languishing.’ It would be a refreshing foil for toxic positivity — that quintessentially American pressure to be upbeat at all times.”

Vaccine rollout

It can still be tough to find a vaccine appointment in France. A data scientist’s app is helping. There’s a giant blue whale at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. You can soon get vaccinated beneath it, if you’d like. Alaska will offer vaccinations to tourists in June to boost tourism-related businesses, Alaska Public Media reports. The U.S. military will begin offering vaccines to detainees at Guantánamo Bay. “Joe’s Covee Car” is decorated with dryer balls that look like the coronavirus. And it ferries people to vaccine sites in New Jersey for free, The Washington Post reports.

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What else we’re following

The Navajo Nation reported no new deaths for the seventh consecutive day and just two new confirmed cases of the coronavirus, The Associated Press reports. After the N.F.L. canceled its in-person draft combine, pro prospects and the teams scouting them have been forced to adjust. Airports in Australia and New Zealand were filled with emotional scenes as thousands of passengers were allowed to travel freely between the two countries for the first time in more than a year. Eyeing tourist season this summer, Greece will relax its quarantine rules. The pandemic has exacerbated Argentina’s economic crisis: In 2020, the national economy shrank by nearly 10 percent, the third straight year of recession. Cambodians could get 20 years in prison for breaking pandemic rules, under a new law that human rights groups say pushes the country toward “totalitarian dictatorship,” The Guardian reports.