March 26, 2021

Starting Monday April 5 anyone over the age of 18 can get vaccinated in Florida!

I can not tell you how relieved I feel. While my 92 year old dad was vaccinated first (and hubby and I just recently got our first doses) my kids are millennials and zoomers and way down at the bottom of the eligibility list. While they have been working remotely and taking classes online and living like hermits, not all of their peers have been as safe, so finally they can get their shots and their mama will sleep better at night. Only ten days to go.....

March 22, 2021

Got the Pfizer vaccine today at Fema location of Miami-Dade College North and things went smoothly.

Went mid-day and got in line at 1:30 where we were handed check in cards through car window after we showed ID's (no appointments necessary). We stayed in our cars while the line slowly moved toward the vaccination tents. After an hour we were waved into parking spaces in front of tents where we vacated our cars and walked into the tents - the first one was just to verify ID, the second tent was to register and get a sticker, in the third tent we separated then sent to wait in folding chairs (very brief wait), then the fourth tent was where we were vaccinated by military personnel (each at our own table) then sent to the fifth and last tent to be watched in case there was a reaction. All in all, it went very smoothly - sat in our cars for an hour, took 15 minutes to go through the tents and receive shot, another 15 minutes of wait time after the vaccine then we were good to go. From start to finish it took about an hour and a half. I was pleasantly surprised how well it went. So relieved. The Spring Breakers are down here in South Florida and all over the place UN-MASKED and it is so scary for those of us who are just trying to follow the rules and keep ourselves alive.

March 10, 2021

Eli Lilly's combo therapy for COVID-19 cuts serious illness and death in large study

(Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Co said on Wednesday that its combination antibody therapy to fight COVID-19 reduced the risk of hospitalization and death by 87% in a study of more than 750 high-risk COVID-19 patients.

It is the second large, late-stage study to show that combination therapy of two antibodies, bamlanivimab and etesevimab, is effective at treating mild to moderate cases of COVID-19. The previous study, which published data in January, used a higher dose of the drugs and reduced risk of hospitalization by 70%.

“I expect this data to continue to drive more utilization” of the antibodies,” said Daniel Skovronsky, chief scientific officer at Eli Lilly. “We have few other diseases where we have drugs that can offer this magnitude of benefit.”

snip

Skovronsky said that Lilly is prepared to manufacture 1 million doses of the combination therapy in the coming months and is in active talks to supply governments around the world with the treatment.

(Read More) https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-lilly/eli-lillys-combo-therapy-for-covid-19-cuts-serious-illness-and-death-in-large-study-idUSKBN2B21C0

March 10, 2021

DeSantis tries again to strip the Florida Cabinet of its powers

Orlando Sentinel - TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet met Tuesday, wrapping up a year of infrequent gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. If DeSantis gets his way, it would have even less to do.

For the second year in a row, DeSantis is pushing for a bill to eliminate Cabinet oversight over a slew of agency and state personnel rules and transfer many of those powers to himself or agencies he controls, arguing that America’s Founding Fathers envisioned a “unitary executive.”

snip

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, the only Democrat on the Cabinet, blasted the bill as an attempt to marginalize her office.

“For the second year running, the governor is attempting a harmful power grab,” Fried said in an emailed statement.
“This bill creates an unnecessary imbalance of power, silences the voice of any non-majority party Cabinet member, and blocks the consensus that Florida’s Constitution requires and makes possible fairness and transparency in doing the people’s business.”



Read More:
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-prem-ne-desantis-cabinet-bill-20210310-yqi7sstn7ffpxluqy3cc7hiboy-story.html