Let’s start the new year off with some good news.
The Root explains clearly that:
Only 15 percent of Black adults said they would “definitely not get the [COVID-19] vaccine,” which is quite literally the exact same percentage of whites who expressed that sentiment.
…71 percent of Black patients said they wanted to proceed cautiously because they were worried about side effects. The same percentage of Black people said they were also worried about the short development period. …Also, a 2018 report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources assessed found even the most objective measures of healthcare quality showed that white people received better care from doctors than Black patients.
Michael Harriot, Black Paranoia and the COVID Vaccine, Explained
Did you know there’s a House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis? Well, there is.
It’s purpose, according to the HSCCC summary?
- Reaching 100% clean, net zero emissions economy-wide in the U.S. by no later than 2050.
- Establishing ambitious interim targets to assess progress and reduce pollution in environmental justice (EJ) communities.
- Achieving net-negative emissions during the 2nd half of the century.
They actually got omnibus legislation passed at the end of this year. Here’s a fact sheet detailing what was accomplished. Far from enough, but it’s a start.
Here’s hoping 2021 is better than 2020, and that there’s still life on Earth by 2050.
A WRITING PROMPT FROM ME TO YOU: Write about hope.
MA
Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt
January 1, 2021 at 7:10amHope comes with the vaccine: we have been informed by management that our county is going to offer independent living residents the shot by the end of January.
I feel, with competing vaccines coming onto the market, that those who want a vaccine will get it sooner rather than later, and that will include my kids who have been isolated so long they are growing moss. I’m so proud of them. The virus hasn’t dropped any important characteristics with the passing of time – there is no excuse for dropping precautions as more and more people are getting exposed every day. I do feel guilty of being offered the vaccine sooner, which is an odd kind of guilt as I had nothing to do with the choice.
I suspect the offer is because people before me aren’t getting the shot in the expected numbers – by their own choice. Incomprehensible, but I don’t feel bad about getting the vaccine when more vulnerable people refuse it.
Marian Allen
January 1, 2021 at 8:46amYou get it when you’re offered it, my friend. It’s part of protecting other people, right?
Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt
January 1, 2021 at 4:27pmThe INSTANT it is offered. I even asked if they were going to create a waiting list for when they had extra doses. This after seeing our whole auditorium occupied ONLY by two ladies behind a table, waiting to administer the vaccine to staff.
I know the vaccines, once taken out of the freezer, are only good for so long, and hate the idea of them being discarded.
Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt
January 1, 2021 at 6:35pmOther people, yes. But me first. It will be nice not having to depend on the erratic behavior of perfect strangers.
Teagan Riordain Geneviene
January 1, 2021 at 11:33amHappy New Year, Marian. Chin rubs to the kitties. Hugs on the wing!