In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, as White House officials debated whether to bring infected Americans home for care, President Donald Trump suggested his own plan for where to send them, eager to suppress the numbers on U.S. soil.
“Don’t we have an island that we own?” the president reportedly asked those assembled in the Situation Room in February 2020, before the U.S. outbreak would explode. “What about Guantánamo?”
“We import goods,” Trump specified, lecturing his staff. “We are not going to import a virus.”
Aides were stunned, and when Trump brought it up a second time, they quickly scuttled the idea, worried about a backlash over quarantining American tourists on the same Caribbean base where the United States holds terrorism suspects.
The book is based on interviews with over 180 people including White House senior staff members and government health officials.
“Testing is killing me!” Trump reportedly exclaimed. “I’m going to lose the election because of testing! What idiot had the federal government do testing?”
(image via Groupon) Some news items you might have missed: • Groupon: I just learned the folks at the ‘deal of the day’ website highlight LGBTQ-owned businesses (above). “Our out and proud merchant partners inspire us every day in all of the myriad ways they uplift and support their communities.” Click here for more of Groupon’s Pride-ful ways. • The Advocate: A larger number of teenagers are identifying as gay, lesbian, or bisexual in the U.S. Surveys by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that between 2015 and 2019 those who identified as “non-heterosexual” grew from 8.3 percent to 11.7 percent in 15-to-17-year-olds. • Edge Media: Results from Planet Fitness’ fifth annual survey reveals 69% of men with dad bods say they are confident and comfortable with their physique. That said, half of all men with dad bods (50%) feel judged by others for their bodies — a number that’s jumped 10% since just last year alone. https://www.instagram.com/p/CQNCpjIr91N/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link • New York Times: The U.S. government spent more than $18 billion last year funding drugmakers to make a Covid vaccine. Now it’s pouring more than $3 billion on a neglected area of research: developing pills to fight the virus early in the course of infection, potentially saving many lives in the years to come. • Andrew Christian: The venerable men’s designer shares his Top 5 Most Extravagant Pride Parades in the World. • NBC Out: Online advice columnist John Paul Brammer shares his amazing journey as a gay Latino in rural Oklahoma. Brammer weaves his experiences with letters from readers in his book, Hola Papi: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons.
According to Johns Hopkins University more than 600,000 people have died in the U.S. from the coronavirus. That’s nearly 1 out of every 550 Americans. From MSNBC:
It was exactly one year ago today when then-Vice President Mike Pence, in his capacity as the head of the White House’s coronavirus taskforce, wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal on the federal response to the pandemic. The message was simple: Thanks to Donald Trump, Pence argued, “we are winning the fight against the invisible enemy.”
The Indiana Republican proceeded to take a tragic-in-hindsight victory lap, dismissing “grim predictions of a second wave,” while insisting that the White House’s approach was “a success.” Pence even boasted at the time that “deaths are down to fewer than 750 a day.”
It came on the heels of Donald Trump assuring the public that he expected the overall U.S. death toll from the pandemic to “probably” be around 60,000.
In mid-April 2020, Trump’s benchmark for success was an overall domestic death toll below 240,000.
Breaking News: More than 600,000 people in the U.S. are known to have died of Covid-19, a once-unthinkable number, 10 times the death toll that Donald Trump once predicted as president. https://t.co/PPwJMig7bfpic.twitter.com/fXdGZYPy32
Today we passed a grim milestone: 600,000 lives lost from COVID-19. My heart goes out to all those who’ve lost a loved one. I know that black hole that seems to consume you, but a time will come when their memory brings a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eyes.
Over 600,000 people in the U.S. have died due to COVID-19. We pray for their loved ones, and we honor their memory. This incredible loss is felt deeply in our communities and across our country.
(image via Instagram) Royal Caribbean has been forced to postpone the inaugural sailing of new ship Odyssey of the Seas after eight vaccinated crew members test positive. From USA Today:
The Odyssey of the Seas’ initial sailings, which the cruise line had laid out as six- and eight-night Southern and Western Caribbean cruises from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from July 3 to July 31, are being canceled as a precaution, Royal Caribbean spokesperson Lyan Sierra-Caro told USA TODAY. The launch will be postponed until July 31, when the first sailing with paying passengers is now scheduled to depart. Four sailings were scrapped in total.
All 1,400 crew members on Odyssey were vaccinated on June 4, but the positive cases were found before the vaccines would be considered fully effective June 18. Of the eight crew members who tested positive, six are asymptomatic and two have mild symptoms.
Royal Caribbean International is postponing the inaugural sailing of its newest cruise ship after eight crew members received positive COVID-19 test results.https://t.co/xp9Q4s0sHr
With 70 percent of adults in New York having received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Tuesday that effective immediately the state was ready to “return to life as we know it.” Nearly all restrictions on businesses and social gatherings have been eliminated, he announced at a news conference.
The changes, which will take effect immediately, mark yet another milestone in the economic recovery of a state that was once an epicenter of the pandemic, and are expected to bring back the type of scenes familiar to most New Yorkers in pre-pandemic times.
With the order, the state, in most cases, will end capacity limits and no longer require social distancing, disinfection protocols and health screenings, instead making it optional for businesses to impose such health precautions on their premises.
Today New York State reached our goal of 70% adult vaccination. That means we can return to life as we know it. Effective immediately, state-mandated COVID restrictions are lifted across commercial and social settings. pic.twitter.com/sMdqkSJ6h5
States with higher vaccination rates now have markedly fewer coronavirus cases, as infections are dropping in places where most residents have been immunized and are rising in many places people have not, a Washington Post analysis has found.
States with lower vaccination also have significantly higher hospitalization rates, The Post found. Poorly vaccinated communities have not been reporting catastrophic conditions. Instead, they are usually seeing new infections holding steady or increasing without overwhelming local hospitals.
As recently as 10 days ago, vaccination rates did not predict a difference in coronavirus cases, but immunization rates have diverged, and case counts in the highly vaccinated states are dropping quickly.
Coronavirus infections are dropping where people are vaccinated, rising where they are not, Post analysis finds https://t.co/670wqxqoxh
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 14, 2021
States are getting more and more creative in coming up with new incentives for folks to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The Washington state Liquor and Cannabis Board has its new promotion, “Joints for Jabs,” which will allow state-licensed cannabis retailers to give one free pre-rolled joint to customers 21 or older when they receive either a first or second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. ABC News reports the promotion will run through July 12.
Talk about going gangsta…
The board had previously authorized businesses with liquor licenses to offer a free wine, beer or cocktail to customers who could prove they’d been vaccinated through June 30.
Adults can claim a complimentary joint of marijuana in Washington state this week when they receive a COVID-19 vaccine shot. https://t.co/WsvrHIBNu7
But Washington isn’t the only state offering ‘puffs for pokes.’
An Arizona cannabis dispensary recently announced a similar program where you could get your free shot and receive a free pre-rolled joint and an edible cannabis gummy. The dispensary calls the program “Snax for Vaxx.”
Many states and businesses began incentivizing vaccinations when the demand began to slow in April.
That was when Krispy Kreme started giving out free donuts to those who got their shot.
Los Angeles County offered free Lakers season tickets, and the Hustler Club in Las Vegas ‘put some skin in the game’ by serving up free lap dances and bottle service.
West Virginia’s governor announced young folks between the ages of 16 to 35 would receive a $100 savings bond if they got vaccinated.
Ohio really upped the stakes when Gov. Mike DeWine announced a new lottery giving away $1 million each week for five weeks for those who received at least one dose of COVID vaccine. For winners under 18, the prize is a four year scholarship to an Ohio public university.
Jonathan Carlyle, an Amazon delivery driver from Toledo, is the second person to win $1 million in Ohio’s vaccine lottery. https://t.co/vGuoC1BYjO
Colorado is doing a similar program called “Colorado Comeback Cash” where one vaccinated resident will be chosen to win $1 million each week for five weeks.
Between May 25 and July 3, Maryland is giving away $2 million in daily $40,000 drawings.
In May, New York State launched the “Vax & Scratch” lottery program which offered $20 scratch-off lottery tickets with a chance to win a $5 million prize if they received a COVID vaccination.
Lottery officials in Kentucky gave away 225,000 free lottery tickets in May to residents who stepped up to get vaccinated.
On June 28 Oregon will give away $1 million to one lucky vaccinated winner plus one person from each of the state’s 36 counties will win $10,000.
If you get a vaccine you could soon be eligible for • free flights on United Airlines • free doughnuts at Krispy Kreme • a $1 million lottery prize in Ohio • $1.5 million in California • a fishing license in Maine • and hunting rifles in West Virginia
California is giving 10 lucky winners $1.5 million each on June 15, plus 30 more Californians could score $50,000 prizes.
Previously mentioned Washington state also has a $2 million lottery going on throughout June.
And don’t worry if you got your shot early. In most states, vaccinated residents are being entered automatically from states’ immunization databases.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 64% of adults in the U.S. have received at least one dose of an approved vaccine. President Biden set a goal in early May to reach 70% by July 4.
Joints for Jabs, shots for shots, donuts for vaccine cards … Meet people where they're at, get ppl what they want and need, minimize the moralizing and applaud ppl getting protection from this very deadly and often debilitating COVID virus. https://t.co/9AHIWLwUPX
Brazil has experienced devastating effects from the coronavirus pandemic, including over 460,000 deaths, due in part to a lack of vaccine doses. The producer of China’s CoronaVac vaccine in Brazil, the Instituto Butantan, took on an interesting experiment involving nearly the entire population of the town of Serrano in São Paulo state. Statista reports that 95 percent of Serrano’s 45,000 inhabitants were fully vaccinated with CoronaVac between the months of February and April. When that process was completed:
Ricardo Palacios, research director at Butantan, said that 75 percent was the crucial figure in the study. Once three quarters of Serrano’s population was fully vaccinated, all three of the above metrics tumbled, suggesting 75 percent is the threshold required to contain and control the pandemic. In other words – vaccines work.
While many states didn’t report COVID-19 stats over the Memorial Day holiday, according to CNBC, the U.S. had the lowest number of new cases reported in more than a year on May 29.
The 11,976 new cases reported on May 29 were the lowest since March 23, 2020, when 11,238 new cases were reported, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The seven-day average of 21,007 is the lowest since March 31 of last year, when it was 19,363.
Friday also saw the TSA report the highest number of travelers since the pandemic began, with more than 1.9 million people taking to the skies for the long weekend.
The Pentagon will host a Pride Month event including an address by the Defense Secretary Some news items you might have missed: • Washington Blade: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is set to deliver the keynote address for an upcoming event at the Pentagon recognizing Pride Month. Defense Secretaries attended such events during the Obama years, but the practice halted during the “other guy’s” administration. • Instinct Magazine: When the pandemic shut down many restaurants and bars, several states legalized to-go cocktails. Now, 14 states have made ‘roadies’ legal forever. https://www.instagram.com/p/CPeeH3htbAp/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link • Washington Post: Vietnam’s Health Ministry announced Saturday that it had detected a highly transmissible new variant of the coronavirus that has helped fuel a recent wave of infections in the country. • Dallas Voice: Out writer/actor Ryan O’Connell chats with the Texas outlet about his TV series Special. The Netflix show is loosely based on his own life as an out gay man living with cerebral palsy.
• HuffPost: Brazil’s homophobic President Jair Bolsonaro is moving closer and closer to being defeated in next year’s election. As he edges towards crisis mode, he is becoming more abusive toward his adversaries. • Hulu: The documentary Changing The Game takes us into the lives of three high school athletes—all at different stages of their athletic seasons, personal lives, and unique paths as transgender teens. The film centers on Mack Beggs, who made headlines when he became the Texas State Champion in girls wrestling – as a boy – and all he wanted to do was wrestle on the boys team. Also featured are Sarah, a skier and teen policymaker in New Hampshire, and Andraya, a track star in Connecticut openly competing on the girls track team.
