Fogged up glasses = escaping breath. I use first aid tape to get the top of my mask closed all the way across. Of course this means it hurts when I eventually remove the mask after I get home because of the tape pulling at the delicate skin below my eyes. Meanwhile when I go out on top of the usual wearing of masks below the nose inside crowded stores, teams of completely uncovered workers on construction sites, uncovered outdoor dining creating curbside gauntlets and the pulling of masks completely down in order to use phones - whenever and wherever the phone user happens to be at the time - I see a lot of people with masks that fit so that their noses look like they are sitting in a row boat. As in open on top and with large gaps on each side of the nose, with only the tip of the nose covered. And often just barely at that. Apparently the point of view such behavior demonstrates is not in fact a latter day development, a condemnation of how things have become because I read in the spring about how there was the same problem in 1918. That is that Americans were actually told to distance and cover back then as well and because - same as now - there was a significant component that didn't cooperate a deadly pandemic developed. With one specific large outdoor political rally in particular that was held right after the looming problem had become recognized being considered a major contributor to the initial establishment and spread of the virus. Individuals taking seemingly careful precautions and becoming infected anyway shouldn't be a source of mystification when it is thought about the totality of what is involved with exposure. Because the death dust is out there being blown around to settle on every body and every thing that is within reach of each cloud of exhalation. So that a friend with medical training was taking a shower every day after coming home from work, early in the unfolding of the pandemic. And we have probably all seen the comical pictures of random people in China walking around in protective suits with jugs etc. covering their entire heads - a hysterical response, except was it really? For my part I managed to be moving around inside a crowded Cost Co during peak afternoon hours yesterday and then fall asleep on the living room couch afterward without bathing. Except for washing my face when I got home. While I was at the warehouse store standing in front of a display reading some product labeling an arm came around from behind me and grabbed a container of the goods and disappeared. I did not look to see how much face covering was employed as they walked away. For one thing I did not want to turn and present my face to the air where they had just been. But when they came up to me at the display they were right there, like maybe a foot away. In other news a research entity was granted a million dollars this past week to find out just how long the COVID virus remains viable on surfaces. And the body of a COVID victim that was for some reason kept around for a month was discovered to have still infectious particles in the lungs.

Lets follow the SCIENCE. The vaccine is here. Age is only one factor in receiving it--job factors heavily. Immunity from this vaccine and having recovered from COVID is unknown as this is all to soon. The other saving grace on the horizon is a treatment. The Washington crowd getting ill before the election all received the new treatment that is in clinical trials right now. It's out of the Lab my youngest works for. The problem is TIME. It is still in clinical trials--so far they are getting fabulous results but safety says finish the trials. Once the treatment is in place and the vaccine is like seasonal flu people will be treated...things will go back to full normal. WHEN will this all be firmly in place is anyone's guess. We are living in the middle of a time of learning about something NEW. I would not personally put huge amounts of money down on travel that cannot be recovered until the treatment is available and I have not heard the timeline on the trials. YOU may well be safe but that does not mean venues are open, travel is as it was. I would like to know who this 50% of "medical workers" are. People you cannot read a stat like that and not ask to see THE SPECIFICS of the survey! If they are polling uneducated, minimum wage earners who work as nursing assistants, personal care assistance, home health aids then yes I believe it. Many of them truly believe in the paranoia of chips being put in these vaccines. It is also true this is very fast for a vaccine to be developed. It can take DECADES for the medical ramifications of drugs on the human body to appear. It is for sure a gamble of a certain degree. How much of a gamble, well what options at this point do we have but to trust in 2021 vaccine development is to a point we are safe when they tell us we are.

[from Merck's PR release, linked above] "(our analysis has identified)....A concerning lack of safety data in the majority of studies. “ We have a friend who came back from India with a bad case of parasitic worms. Basically what de-worming medication is, is trying to poison the parasites but hopefully stop short of poisoning you. It is toxic stuff with serious side effects, which is why doctors try to keep a careful eye on you when using those kinds of prescriptions. Merck's release points out: ".....It is important to note that, to-date [February 4, 2021], our analysis has identified: No scientific basis for a potential therapeutic effect against COVID-19 from pre-clinical studies; No meaningful evidence for clinical activity or clinical efficacy in patients with COVID-19 disease " They aren't going to stop anybody from taking it, but it looks like they're very far from encouraging anyone to do so.

For those who seem to be having difficulties accessing that link, I am also not a subscriber but the free "trial subscription" window that pops up on my screen is optional. There is a 'x' in the upper right hand corner that if you click on it, the trial subscription window goes away and the article is free to be read. btw, in the pre-Covid days, the Northwest Flower and Garden show in Seattle was the second largest garden show in the country. And was always held in February. And much like Chelsea, the focus was on display gardens created by local designers filled with flowering plants. And yes, using greenhouses to force the plants into early bloom is standard operating procedure. Garden shows would not function without them!! Because the NWF&G show is held indoors in our convention center and attracts thousands of visitors over its 5 days, it will not be held this year. Last year, the event was held just before the concerns about Covid became so widespread....it snuck in just under the wire :-)