Unfortunately, I will not be able to cover today’s conference. I was not aware of the time and have a grocery pick up scheduled. Updates will be provided afterwards.
Some thoughts:

Louisiana is on a continued downward trend in new cases and case positivity.
The U.K. variant B.1.1.7 is spreading.
- Variant is more transmissible.
  - Mitigation methods may not work as well/be enough to curb spread.
- Vaccines will “work” on it.
The current proclamation is set to expire.
- Mardi Gras around the corner.
- Still a lot of COVID in the state.
- Given the above it is unlikely that he’ll roll back to Phase 3.
Gov John Bel Edwards is set to receive his first dose of vaccine today.

Summary

Link to Watch
Gov John Bel Edwards - 'While we still have a long way to go to put pandemic behind us we know the only way to do that is through the vaccine' - Pennington Biomedical Research Center will serve as Region 2 / Baton Rouge's first mass-vaccination site, * Thanks to Our Lady of the Lake and Pennington Biomedical Research Center for their partnership to make the vaccine more accessible to the public at this community vaccination center. - Latest Vaccine Info: * Currently Phase 1B, Tier 1. * 448,122 Vaccine Series have been initiated * 189,239 have been completed. * 637,361 total doses have been administered as of the most recent update. * 2,000 providers are enrolled. * State has administered about 500K doses of COVID19 vaccine. * That would not have been possible without our partners (hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, institutions, and other providers as well). * As of today we can say more people have received vaccine than those who have tested positive * Though many more people probably have contracted the coronavirus disease than have been tested.) * Lots of different metrics to measure your progress and that is one of them that JBE thinks is meaningful. - Recently the state has expanded the number of eligible people to include those aged 65+, the unified COVID command group, state frontline COVID responders, and election workers for the March and April elections. * About 1.2M (out of 4.6 M) now eligible for the vaccine, though demand still exceeds supply. The biggest group is people 65 and older * Edwards defends not broadening access further: "If you prioritize everybody, you really don’t prioritize anybody." * Gov John Bel Edwards will receive his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine today along with other members of the Unified Command Group (Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin, Secretary of Transportation & Development Shaun Wilson, Secretary of Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, Secretary of Louisiana Works Ava Dajoie). * JBE has been looking forward to this day for a while. * Knew when we started this that he would wait his turn until his priority group got there, which is odd Odd because he also determines the priority groups, but he knew he had to prioritize frontline workers and first responders who were not in the medical field but respond to the COVID emergency before getting to the Unified Command Group. * For me, waiting hasn't been easy so I know it's not easy for anyone out there waiting on the vaccine. * Demand for the vaccine exceeds supply but demand is getting better every week, not in huge numbers. * This week we had a 20% bump next week we will have a little bump as well (approx. 5%). * The goal is to have everyone vaccinated and we are going to continue adding priority groups as we're able.' (Last week JBE said teachers will be among those next in line). * If you have a funnel and the bottom of the funnel is only so wide you can put all folks in the top but it won't come out any faster. What you will do is create a lot of frustration when you do that, and quite frankly, if you prioritize everybody you aren't prioritizing anybody. * Will do everything we can to address hospital capacity but also saving lives. - Those who are eligible but on the fence, I have every confidence that the FDA would not have granted authorization had these vaccines not been safe or effective. The CDC would have ratified that if the vaccines were not safe and effective. Everyone should get their vaccine when they are eligible.
John Kirwan PhD Executive Director to the Pennington Biomedical Research Center

We are so much better when we work together.
Pennington Biomedical Research Center will serve as Region 2 / Baton Rouge's first mass-vaccination site, we've created a critical resource for our community a covid vaccination superset that is able to provide quick access to thousands of our citizens.
- We're able to give out 7000 doses a week
  - Currently limited by supply, that amount will not be achieved until allotment is able to reach the demand.
1st genetic sequencing was January 10th, 2020 which lead to the productions of several vaccines that are shown to be highly effective against the virus.
Technology that was used to develop the vaccines was from university intellectual property not unlike the expertise that exists at Pennington.
Now our responsibility is to administer the vaccines equitably and efficiently to patients.
1.8M initiative to provide FREE COVID testing to the black community of Baton Rouge.
- Partnership with Mayor's Healthy Initiative of Baton Rouge and funded by NIH.
We're challenged by testing and the need for testing continues to essential as we seek to overcome covid mutations emerging.
Pennington has the capacity to sequence the virus and provide the data that's needed to identify the variants in the communities we are testing. We are offering those services to the state.

Richard Vath CEO of Our Lady of the Lake

Healthcare providers have been blessed by the thanks and gratitude from the public.
Vaccination is the #1 inactive of 2021.
Fully anticipated that post-Christmas and New Years' we couldn't have the hospital folks focused on vaccinating the community so they reached out to their Franciscan physician's group to try to take over the community vaccination for the community patients and individuals who fit the criteria.
There's no doubt the vaccines are safe. We've looked at it adnausueum.
We expect some side effects with any vaccine but in the 35,000 doses, we've given we haven't seen any serious side effects.
Encourage people to take the vaccine.
In Early January we began giving vaccines and we opened up a couple of sites in Baton Rouge and one in Ascension Parish. We will continue to keep those sites open because they are important sites for our community but we are excited about this opportunity with Pennington to be able to deliver vaccines at this wonderful site and we hope to exceed 7,000-7,500 vaccines a week.
Thanks, various people.

Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin

Honor to be here with so many frontline heroes.
Thanks to all frontline workers and Governor.
Many of his election workers are now eligible for a vaccine with spring elections approaching.
Most elections workers are elderly, working hard to encourage the next generation of poll workers, with the extension of eligibility to election workers it makes it more possible to make certain we are delivering democracy to the people of Louisiana.
Thanks to the governor for allowing many election workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine ahead of the March 20 election.
Says JBE has done a good job of setting priorities for the vaccine. "I can’t imagine his job. .... He’s bearing the brunt of this for our great state."

Gov John Bel Edwards - Latest COVID Info * As of noon today, there have been 414,354 cases reported * 1,321 new on 33,236 tests with 4% positivity) * Sadly an additional 20 deaths were reported today for a total of 9,162 deaths * 1,122 COVID-19 patients in hospitals (down 22 from yesterday) with 151 on mechanical ventilators (up 2 from yesterday). - Went through the gating criteria with the Department of Health and the Office of Public Health yesterday. There has been some progress when compared to a month ago. * The baseline numbers remain concerning -- % positivity, new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. * Still have twice a many people with COVID in the hospital than what we had over the summer. * Worried bout the UK B.1.1.7 variant: * We know it is in Louisiana and spreading. * 50% more transmissible than the variant that is the current dominant strain. * Within the next month or so it may be the predominant strain here and in the rest of the country. * New evidence shows that is maybe 30% more lethal. * All 64 parishes remain red for a high amount of case incidence as defined by the CDC. * There are more than 100 cases per 100,000 population over the last 7 days. * Fast Tuesday is Tuesday... and Mardi Gras 2020 widely and deeply seeded the virus into our communities across the state but principally in the New Orleans area I've decided to stay in Modified Phase 2 with current striations in place for 21 days (ending March 3rd). * Hopeful to ease some restrictions in March. - If you have an indoor gathering make sure where 100% of the people are wearing masks, it is just as important after you're vaccinated as it was before. * Vaccine will prevent you from becoming sick it is not guaranteed to prevent you from becoming infected or infectious. You can still spread the virus even if it doesn't make you sick. * Do not change conduct in the foreseeable future. - Encourages everyone in Louisiana to do their part and be smart and courteous. * Wear masks. * Distance from those from outside of your household. * Wash your hands. * Stay home when sick. * Get your vaccine when you are eligible.

Questions

Have the weekly governors' calls changed?*

Have changed a little bit. The New White House administration continues to hold calls with governors once a week.
- Had this week's phone call this morning.
- Old administration relied on video calls this one uses phone calls that last 45 min to 1 hour.
- Two-way line of communication they give us information, we tell them our concerns, and we've actually seen them address those concerns.
  - For example the way the CDC reports the data still has a ways to go but if you were paying attention to Operation Warspeed and their data it's been simplified since then. We can talk through allocations, as I requested they gave us 3 weeks of visibility so we know the minimum of what to expect over the next 3 weeks moving forward.

What did the White House tell you about the number of doses we'll get next week and the subsequent weeks. Have you made a commitment of a certain amount of doses to Pennington per week?

The second one is no, we haven't made that commitment. I'm refraining from using the word mass vaccination right now because we aren't receiving the number of doses necessary to do mass vaccination, but we are doing community vaccination sites. When we get enough doses allocated to us, we're particularly hopeful about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine which is a single-dose that doesn't require cold storage, we don't know yet what amounts will be vaccinated.
State's allocation of vaccine doses will increase by 5% next week. WE do not know if that's Moderna or Pfizer, over the last 3 weeks all of the increase has been for Moderna.
There is a new initiative by the White House where they will pick a number of FQHC (250) with at least one being in each state in order to directly allocate vaccine to. It will not come off of the state's allocation. We do not know the amount for Louisiana or where they will be.
- 1/2 million 1st does and 1/2 a million 2nd doses will be allocated.

Until now you've prioritized sending vaccines to pharmacies and local providers why is this the time to open up a community site? Why shift in that direction
We've been doing this since the beginning, initially, we sent them to hospitals because the first order of priority was the hospital providers. Ever since then we have been sending doses to our hospital partners across the state that includes the biggest hospitals in the state and the rural hospitals. This is an evolution of what we have already been doing so people do not have to go to the hospital campus to get doses administered. They will do it here at Pennington and the size of the operation will be dependent on how many doses they get. We will feed them as many doses as we can but not to the detriment of having equity across the state.
Now you have gone through all of the nursing homes for at least 1 pass do you have any updated numbers about uptake in staff and residents in the facility
Dr Joseph Kanter, LDH

1/2 of homes have not received their second visit.
Expectation is that on the second visit more staff will opt to receive a dose than did during the first visit. That delta so far is 12%.
- 26% of staff received it during the first visit and an additional 12% have opted to be vaccinated during the 2nd visit for a total of 38% of staff uptake accepting at least the first dose of the vaccination. It had been 26%.

We have equal numbers of confirmed cases and people who have received one shot, more on the vaccine, so we have between 800,000-900,000 people with some degree of immunity. At what point does this immunity start making a dent in cases and hospitalization, particularly as elderly people get the shot? Do you think the vaccine is having an impact right now and that is why cases are dropping?

At what point does natural immunity provide population-wide benefits to us and I don't think we are there yet. That is frustrating, but the facts on the ground don't argue that way.
The course of the virus has been coming in waves, clearly we had a wave over the holidays with increased travel and gathering it was rather predictable.
Natural infection provides some degree of incomplete protection for some degree after infection, but the specific amount of protection and length in which this protection lasts is still unknown.
- Data is coming in slowly but it is not great data we are seeing people get reinfected, I have seen a couple of people clinically reinfected a third time.
- CDC says you likely have some degree of protection following a natural infection for about 90 days.
- It's not all or nothing, where you lose complete protection and 90 days.
- There is a benefit for people who have had COVID-19 to get the vaccine.
Natural infection may give some immunity to the community but I would not take solace in that.
UK variant is doubling in nationwide numbers every 10 days.
- It's here in greater numbers than we know.
- Likely have more cases ahead.
- Focus now is to drive down transmission as much as possible for as long as possible before another surge happens. The more we drive it down the better we will be to handle an additional surge as it comes.
The Secretary of Transportation and Development was one of the first people in the state to test positive for COVID 19 and he will be getting the vaccine.

"here is this girl i went to new orleans with"

This was sent to me by text a few weeks ago, accompanying a picture of a chick in a girly pastel colored 2-piece matching lingerie outfit laying across HIS bed in HIS bedroom. The girl is thin but curvy, with what appears to be breast implants or at least a very good push-up bra. She's not stick-skinny, but on the thinner side, and most notably, her belly is flat and smooth, with no scars, rolls, skin folds, or stretch marks.
He KNOWS I have body insecurities. He KNOWS I hate my belly most of all, because it's big, sticks out, and scarred up from a combination of major uterine surgery (no kids! ironic I had the surgery to cut out the many fibroids that were preventing me from being able to have kids) and health problems. He knows I resent looking like a "mom bod" without even having kids yet. He doesn't know this next part but I also secretly dislike how disproportionately small my boobs are to the rest of me. Worst of all, he KNOWS I was so angry and anguished when he blatantly told me post-breakup how he'd been cheating on me and was now f-buddies with the last girl he'd cheated on me with, who he also stood me up for. When I sent him criticism of the chick in the pic, such as accusation that she must be a "butterface" since he cropped her head out, he sent me a photo of them together, this time showing their faces together. They're fully clothed in winter attire but from what I see she has a body that matches what's in the lingerie pic.
Why would he do this? How hurtful and maddening is he trying to be to me? Has this happened to anybody else??
TL/DR: I was dating a guy for months, he dumped me in a way that blamed me for something he'd previously claimed to forgive me for, but he kept ridiculing and demeaning me afterwards. He later admitted without shame that he'd cheated on me the night he stood me up, and that the girl was much hotter than me. He sent me a pic of her lying across his bed in pastel bra/panty skirt set, mentioning he went on a mini-trip with her. Why does he keep belittling me, and has this happened to anyone else?
Backstory: He sent this to me a few weeks ago, several weeks after he dumped me by text, after at least 4 months of dating. He dumped me upon realizing that he was no longer sexually attracted to me when he last saw me the night before (his words somewhat, and also his "performance" the night before showed this even more, with him going limp only a few mins into it and him then stopping while mumbling that he wasn't feeling it, leading me to think it was all my fault).
This last time I saw him was the first time I'd seen him at all in person since we'd reconciled (or so I thought) after a huge blowup showdown fight we'd had by phone/text 2 weekends beforehand. He had provoked a fight with me out of nowhere, incessantly belittling me about all the stuff he knew I was triggered by with my bad job, when I was already in my car driving up to his place as usual. During this fight-by-text he also verbally planted seeds of insecurity in me about the possibility he'd just replace me with other chicks, since I had decided during this text-fight to turn around and drive home instead of continuing to drive to see him. After I secretly dwelled and mulled over and over about the things he said, I started panicking that he was getting with other, better looking chicks behind my back.
So a few days later when he expressed worry that something bad had happened to me (since I went no contact after the first 7hrs or so of him provoking me), I reluctantly texted back so he wouldn't place a missing person report on me or something, and to give him peace of mind I was still in fact alive and unharmed. I felt it was my moral obligation to give gim that. But I was still very bitter and angry when I texted him back that I was okay out of obligation, so I also sent him spiteful screenshots I'd put together to have him falsely think I was meeting up with another guy, and a guy of a certain different race too that he has previously badmouthed. He acted sooooo hurt, like this was the worst thing any girl had ever done to him. He seemed a little relieved when I later confessed that the screenshots were a mean joke I'd played on him out of spite and jealousy, but he still condemned my motive behind my trick.
However, it was a matter of days after that when he told me he'd decided to forgive me and wanted to see me again. I was happy to have another chance, but procrastinated making plans with him so I could focus on myself, my work, my jobsearch, find time outside my busy work schedule to get myself the makeover I'd planned, and to play hard-to-get. I wanted to make sure the next time he saw me, I'd be looking my best and also have the new blonde hair he'd suggested for me (apparently he prefers blondes, and most of his Xs were blondes). He kept insisting he "had" to see me, seemed almost like he was chasing me somewhat.
Then I finally meet with him over a week later, and nearly 2wks after he'd started that fight, and I get stood up by him. But he had an excuse story for me the next morning, a hard-knocks, down-in-his-luck not-his-fault story that I felt like I'd be an asshole if I didn't accept, so we arranged to meet the following evening. At which point he didn't take me out in the city like our original thwarted plans had been, but just stayed at his place claiming it was "late" and he was "tired". So we just stayed in, hooked up like usual, but it wasn't like usual because this time he went limp in the middle of it and stopped abruptly. He was polite but seemed emotionally distant. Then the next day was when he dumped me. I feel stupid saying this now but initially I was secretly upset and sad about this breakup. But I also knew it to be over, didn't try to beg him back or profusely apologize like I'd done after our fight.
He still texted me after that, rather mean and condescending. When I smarted off at him, much meaner now than I'd been when I'd dated him, he got sexually degrading, treating me like some street hooker, demanding I come see him and give him a blowjob right now. Talking to me way less respectfully than when we'd dated. (I don't know if he even meant it, I think he was just talking crap as a test to see if I wanted him). Also bragged about girls he was hooking up with after me, saying they are kinkier than me and better in bed. Eventually, I falsely claimed to him that I didn't want him anymore because I'd accepted a date from a coworker (wasn't true). He quickly called my bluff, said he didn't believe me. He said I wasn't making him jealous because he already had what he wanted, which was promiscuous hookups and f-buddies, that he didn't even want relationships. He also said he believed me that the coworker very much exists, but that he doubts that the coworker asked me out (sadly, he's right, the coworker is a real person at my job but had indirectly expressed rejection of me after he suspected I "liked" him).
Over the next week, I ranted on advice forums, read dating/relationship advice sites and books, etc. I started realizing how toxic he was, and how even when he'd acted somewhat nice while we were dating, he really wasn't all that "nice" because he hadn't done some typical "official BF/GF" stuff. I started seeing how couples who'd dated half the time we did were already doing stuff together we'd never done, that he'd either never mentioned doing or had discreetly, stealthily shied away from doing with me. Instead of feeling sad, I now felt mad! More mad by the day. He had kept me stuck in Relationship Nowhere Land, knowing I had goals of marriage and babies in mind before I even met him (these were specified on my OLD profile that he met me on and initiated contact with me on). I was totally over him dating-wise, as I now saw that I should aim for better in a dating relationship, but I was definitely NOT over the principle of him disrespecting me and wasting my limited time. Far from it! I was now finally feeling all the anger that I'd made myself suppress in the months I'd dated him, when I kept telling myself not to push things too hard/fast, to be satisfied with what I had, etc. I felt so cheated, by him AND myself, and that made me angrier and angrier. Initially I thought to blame my toxic job for us not working out; the insane intrusive work schedule and worse, the mean disrespectful coworkers and management who treat me like dog shit most workdays there. But then I started seeing HIM to be the problem! After all, I NEED a job for money for bills and basic costs of living, and he knows this. He also knows I hate my job and have been trying my hardest to jobsearch for something better. To be so heartless about that is just cruel.
So later that same month, I responded to another rude text from him by phone calling him, and retorting loudly at him, for both his ongoing lewd texts and by telling him he was a "shitty boyfriend" to not do X, Y, Z various BF/GF things with me over the 4+ months he had with me. That's when he dropped the bombshell, in a nonchalant exaggeratedly casual calm way, that he didn't do those things with me because he never saw me to be his girlfriend! What!!!! This made me extremely upset. I'll admit I was yelling at him, and to the point of angry tears. He just acted all casual, like he didn't understand what the big deal was. He also said, still in a nonchalant calm voice that reminds me slightly of a talk show host that explains things calmly and cheerfully while smiling broadly the whole time, how he didn't see any long-term potential in me, and "that's why I was always cheating on you". What??! He then said in an ironically cheerful tone about how he never actually canceled his OLD membership, just deleted his profile/page and started a new one so I wouldn't see it. This is the same guy who told me at the beginning of meetup #5/date #4, a few days after our first sex together, that he'd deleted his OLD profile and wanted me to only date/see him, and how he didn't feel comfortable having sex with me if I was going on dates or sleeping with other people (I wasn't having sex with anyone else since 8 months prior. I'd gone on 1 Zoom "date" a few days before meeting him in person, and 2 sexless kissing-only dates in the week after meeting him but before we'd ever become sexual). Yet here he'd basically tricked me into living a lie without even giving me knowledge of this.
Worse, he then admitted that he'd MET someone the night he stood me up 2 days before the last time I saw him, and that's the real reason he didn't return my calls that night about where I should drive to to meet up with him. He bragged that his not-his-fault false arrest story was just a story he made up (which I'd already suspected at one point). I admit I didn't conduct myself well, having all this thrown on me all at once after months of apparent deception. I screamed, I cried, I cursed at him. But who WOULD react well to this?? I had already decided days earlier that I wanted nothing to do with him dating-wise or friendship-wise, but I did feel entitled to get answers. Especially if he was going to just drop bombshells on me like that, he better explain himself and answer my questions. I asked why he stood me up. He simply said "because she's really hot". Apparently he's FWBs with her now, as she's not into relationships either, and she only lives a few miles from him in the city. I asked him why I wasn't enough. He cheerfully responded that I never have "free time" from my "crap job" that I "always complain about" (even though he technically always complained about my job too, saying the job never gave me enough "free time", due to my mostly 2nd shift 6days/wk schedule). I asked him why he made me stay monogamous when he wasn't that way to me. He said "I don't know, because I didn't want STDs?" I then called him out on him putting ME at risk, especially when we were having fully unprotected sex (albeit he had a vasectomy years ago). I asked him why he had unprotected sex with me, knowing he was with other girls, and if he had unprotected sex with them too. He said in a nonchalant tone, "I don't know why. But you were the only one I had unprotected sex with, it just happened to be like that. I used condoms with all the others. Only you were unprotected, not sure why." So...GREAT...I got apparently all the STD risk, but none of the good stuff of unprotected sex, i.e. a pregnancy, because he's been "snipped". 😡 At one point he admitted that I was right to say I'm not nearly as good-looking as his "psycho" XGF (who he dated 1yr before me for a full year, and moved in with right before they broke up). He acted so cheerful and nonchalant about it all! This made me feel even more disrespected and furious.
He also dropped the news that he was going to New Orleans for a 3- or 4-day weekend with the girl he'd stood me up to hook up with. I admit I was definitely seeing red at this. What?? He couldn't take any photos with me, introduce me to even 1 friend of his, or refer to me as his GF when we were out (instead, he referred to me as his "friend" when we got in convo with a host/manager at a restaurant we went to 😡), but he could take the big step of GOING ON A MINI VACATION with some f-buddy he just met less than a month before???!!! I was pissed. I also didn't quite believe him. Then I remembered some of the whirlwind trips some of my past former friends had gone on with guys or sugar daddies, and how even I went on a trip once with a platonic male friend many years before (granted, I knew him for 2-3 years at that point and the friend was very financially well-off and traveled a LOT, and had taken other friends places too). This asshole claimed she had the trip planned with a girl friend but the girl canceled due to pandemic-related stuff, but it was nonrefundable, so on a whim she suggested asshole go with her. I tried my best to accuse him of lying or to mock the supposed trip. "Why would you go there in January anyway? That's not even when Mardi Gras will be, and it's after New Years is over" and "Ha, everything's closed due to covid anyway, what a boring trip it'll be" and "It'll probably be canceled due to covid". The stupid idiot can't even pronounce New Orleans the right way. A few weeks later I was watching a Chef Ramsey restaurant show and learned it's actually pronounced "New OR-lins" among anyone who actually lives there. I hope he got mocked and picked on by the residents when he went there saying "New Or-leeeeeeeens".
But as my continually crap luck turns out, he is still seeing the slut and he did go to New Orleans last month. He has since sent me a few pictures, one bombshell trigger slow-released at a time. First this lingerie pic last month, apparently after their stupid trip. Then a few more, one of his ticket there and another of him with her. I'm livid. Meanwhile, I'm still single and celibate since him. I've had 1 date since him, about 2 or 3 weeks later, with someone I'd talked to previously on OLD, but no sex and we've drifted apart since then. I worry that I'm going to end up in yet another catch 22 sex drought like I did before. And although he's bragged about threesomes and other girls he's hooked up with such as his chubby neighbor he told me about, I still feel secret jealousy about this lil slut. Oh and he has never brought up my mean screenshot flirtation trick again as the reason he dumped me. Instead, he's told me it's because the slut he cheated on me with is hotter and has better sexual chemistry, or has blamed it on me having "no free time" because of my job schedule. I also caught him using the "no free time"/work explanation on an OLD site, when he reached out to my picture-less new profile not realizing it was actually me.

He sent me pics of her, the girl he cheated on me with and is now seeing after me...why?

Summary of the 11:30AM New Orleans COVID-19 Press Conference

WATCH LIVE @ 2:30 PM - Gov. Edwards news conference on state’s response to COVID-19

Vaccines available to 65+

*Link to Watch - Louisiana Public Broadcasting
Gov JBE Mod note: I totally forgot to set an alarm and missed the beginning of the conference. 😬
Info I originally missed:

Newly eligible on February 8th - In total, there will be 275,000 people newly eligible. - That brings the number of people eligible to more than 1.1M people out of Louisiana's 4.6M residents.

New People Eligible Are: - Persons 65+ - Unified Command Group * JBE will get his first dose next week: "I'm pretty excited about being able to do that. - State and local COVID Emergency Response Personnel & Law Enforcement - March & April Election workers

Edwards says 29 other states, including Louisiana's neighbors, are offering vaccines to those 65 and older (though Louisiana jumped ahead of the fed recommendations in expanding it to 70 and older faster)

57 Walmarts in Louisiana will get 14,000 doses a week straight from the feds as part of a new partnership. That's on top of 86,500 or so doses the state is getting next week

1,178 people died of COVID in January in Louisiana, the second-deadliest month of the pandemic behind April of 2020. December was the third-deadliest.

18 minutes in...

Asking people to double down to make sure we don't have another surge.
Deaths are a lagging indicator of the disease burden so if you can show improvements in percent positivity (we are) we are showing improvements in the number in the hopstials (we are) and in the
Months with most deaths in Louisiana was April of last year after Mardi Gras largely seeded the virus in the New Orleans area at a time we didn't even know it was happening. Shame on us if Mardi Gras 2021 looks like 2020 with the number of people having COVID in our state this year.
Our numbers have been improving relative to cases, percent positivity, and hospitalization but the baseline is very high.
- All 64 parishes remain red for having a high incidence of new cases relative to population i.e. more than 100 cases per 100,000 over 7 days.
- We have too much COVID in Louisiana, with worse variants, the UK B.1.1.7 variant is projected to be the main strain spreading by March.

Dr Kanter - Thanks the Governor. - COVID continues to be widespread throughout the state of Louisiana. - Good news it clear we have peaked after the holidays but we are awfully high and continue to have the highest category of incidence by the CDC more than 100 cases per 100,000 over 7 days throughout the state. - Risk remains exorbitantly high. - Continue to see increase fatality amounts a number of weeks after you peak. - Reached a grim milestone of 9,000 deaths yesterday. - Still, a lot of people hospitalized, but the number is going in the right direction. - Risk of being exposed to COVID in normal daily activities is extremely high and has been for the past 4-6 weeks. * Take precautions it is still very very risky out there. - One of the tools we have is the COVID DEFENSE APP. * 100% Free * Anonymous * Will does not track you * Available on iPhone and Android app stores * Tells you if you've been exposed * No obligation to use the app but it works better the more people who use it - Vaccine News * Doing quite well in comparison to other states. * Continue to rank in the top categories of other states when looking at administration per capita. * At the conclusion of this week (first doses) 411,850 doses available for instate allocation capita. * Next week: Pfizer (29,250 doses) Moderna (41,600 doses) small bump for week prior we are thankful for * Will be taking back 10,000 doses that were previously allocated to the long-term care partnership because we were required to by the CDC. Now they are giving us allowance to call them back and add them to our instate allocations and distributions. * Will be seeding retail pharmacy program with Walmart with an additional 5,700 taking from the long-term care partnership program bank. * At the conclusion of next week, we will have a Toal of 492,700 doses available plus 5,700 doses for the retail pharmacy program with what we expect the Fed to match it with (apron. 14,000 doses). * FEd amount has not been confirmed yet. * Expect relatively flat allocation amounts for the next few weeks. * We've been told to expect that by the Federal government * Will have more time to prepare. - Sizable vaccine losses * 133 doses in the past week * Shreveport hospital due to a temperature mismanagement issue and miscommunication issue with Moderna when the provider discussed what the proper course was. * 200 doses lost in pharmacy * Region 4 Lafayette area * Total loss for the state 548 doses * Every drop pains him * All of them have been honest human error, and after each event we do a root cause analysis to see what could have been done better to prevent this from happening. * When doses arrive from the sub-distributor they are not be refrozen and that will be a point that will be reclassified. - Looking ahead... * Avail yourself of all the tools and mitigation strategies that are out there. * Nervous about the new variant. * Hitting us at the time we are recovering from the largest spike we've had. * Our ability to detect the variant pales in comparison to how widespread it is. * Country does not do a large amount of sequencing. * know when we identify cases like this it is the tip of t iceberg. * Two additional cases of the B.1.1.7 variant have been confirmed * Region 5 Lake Charles area * Total confirmed in the state: 5 * Additional 20 cases under review by the CDC. * CDC is overloaded by pending requests by the state. CDC may not sequence the suspected cases. * Marks how widespread the variant is in the country. * Variant is probably not in the two areas of the confirmed cases. * One type of PCR platform by Thermofisher can spit out a report suggestive of the variant. * Big testing operations in Region 1 & 5 use that platform. * Does not mean the variant is not in other regions. * CDC expects the variant will be the dominant strain by March. * Do not know when it will be the dominant strain in Louisiana. * Good likelihood we will have another spike before we achieve herd immunity. * Variant is more transmissible. * UK finds it is putting more people in the hospital. * Need to do what we can now to prepare for the variant spike * Knew we were going into the holidays with the knowledge the holidays would set us back. * Taking bonfire and throwing gas on it. * Need to do better this time around. * More we can suppress transmission now the better we will be prepared to handle the surge from the variant.

Questions

In the past you said you will move to a new group when you see slack in the uptake. Are you seeing a slack in the uptake of the vaccine? Specifically, do you have any areas of the state where uptake is lower than others
It is relatively even throughout the state. We keep up with our providers very regularly as of a few weeks ago we were hearing about long waitlists, I'm not suggesting supply and demand has leveled out because it hasn't, but we have begun over the past week from providers that they are not as busy, coupled with the expert's int he country advising (to go down to age 65) and being cognizant of the severe loss of life we have weathered is what motivated the situation to go forward.
Earlier the Department said you were taking back 15,000 doses from the long term care nursing program now you are saying 10,000 what happened?
It's just splitting into two parts we are taking 10,000 doses from the long-term care bank which was 9,360 and moving them to direct allocation to be dispersed to pharmacies and care partners in addition we are taking 5,700 and moving them from the long-term care program int to he new retail pharmacy program. They will both enter the state. It is important because the retail partnership program does not start till 2/11 and we began supplying Walmarts this week. We didn't want there to be a gap in services we wanted them to be able to continue rendering services.
When do you see the next phase opening?
We are anxiously trying to get to frontline essential workers because we know the risk their job puts them towards. That is likely to be the next phase. When we will get there is dependent on how much vaccine is available to us and I can tell you that right now what we are guaranteed 2-3 weeks out and the uptake of the current eligibility phase. No one is interested in telling them they eligible if it doesn't translate into access to the vaccine. That doesn't help anyone.
What is your response about people going to other states to get vaccinated if they don't meet the criteria in Louisiana at this time?
We've administered a greater % of vaccine available to us than Mississippi has so I think there is more daylight in the vaccine available in Mississippi. I cannot comment on their state policies or fault people to try to get vaccinated. All I ask is that the people of Louisiana be a good neighbor and not game the system.
You guys have laid out what Tier 2 will look like. Do you think that is set in stone? Are you still making tweaks?
I don't think anything is set in stone ever in this. We continue to listen to national experts, look at data, and data continues to come out. I think it's a good idea of where we are headed but I will not say we will not listen to new data if it comes out.
Gov JBE

One reason following priority groups may change this because ACIP recommendations may change in terms of the CDC looking at new things, whether the variant or something else. That is what happened two weeks ago. Also, we can make a change in a priority group if a vaccine comes out that is better suited for certain people than others.
- None of this is written in stone.
- It's a novel virus and we learn something new each day.
- New vaccines are being released and we learn something every day about them.
No one should believe the long-term care partnership will use doses slower than they have because we took 15,700 doses out of the partnership this week. We only did that because those were the first doses they were going to receive and not administer this week and we are not going to slow down the program.
This is carnival season, Super Bowl is Sunday, let's not repeat the problems we created for ourselves over the holidays. Let's not repeat what happened in Louisiana following Mardi Gras 2020.
- Unfortunately most people's Super Bowl activities are similar to what happened during the holidays.
  - Multi-generational households meeting under one roof indoors for extended periods of time.
    - It's just not safe.
  - Do not safely, from your own household, and share experiences online/over video chat.
- Encourages people not to do that this year.
- Find a way to celebrate Mardi Gras but in a safer different way this year with due regard to your neighbors and healthcare professionals.
  - Wear your mask.
  - Avoid crowds.
  - Outdoors is always safer than indoors.
- Not much enjoyment if you contract COVID during these gatherings and even less so if someone is in the hospital or dies as a result.
  - We lost 1,000 people over 3 weeks in Lousiana due to holiday activities.
We are very concerned about what we are seeing already on Bourbon Street and large gatherings taking place elsewhere.
- It's irresponsible and selfish and we are better than that.
- Will lead to another surge if we do not get it under control quickly.
Because the variant is more transmissible so something that may have had a minor risk will now have an elevated risk.

Questions

My stream cut off Information that was missed:

Unemployment remains very high in Louisiana, with more claims and payments made in the month of January than in all of 2019.

Edwards said the state will still send state troopers to New Orleans for Mardi Gras like it normally does, but this time it will be to enforce the covid restrictions, not to facilitate parades.

He tells people from out of state not to come to New Orleans for Mardi Gras "if you don't abide by the rules." He also says travel is risky

The state is "rehearsing" with the Louisiana National Guard the setup of mass vaccination sites for when the state gets more vaccine doses from the federal government. "It really is going to take an increase in allocation.

Official /r/nba Power Rankings #3 - It might be cold, but teams are getting hot (02.01.2021)

23/30 rankers reporting this week. /NBA's Power Rankings are published every two weeks which is a bit different from most rankings. Other than that we rank the teams the same way as our competition. If write ups are left blank the team rep decided not to submit. We encourage any user to fill in the blanks in the comment section. Rankings were supposed to be completed prior to Today's games.

#	Team	Δ	Record	Comment
1	Clippers	+1	16-5	Kawhi and PG are the best duo in the league right now. Lou has slowed down a bit, but Batum has really stepped up. Finally, Lue is experimenting a lot with the rotations, so I'm eager to see which rotations end up being the best. Things look good.
2	Lakers	-1	15-6	Lakers have been a mixed bag since the last Power Rankings. After a loss to GSW on Jan 18th in which Oubre actually played well, the team rattled off 3 straight wins in the Midwest (MIL, CHI, CLE) as they began their longest road trip of the season. Their momentum was interrupted by two straight losses to PHI (Tobias Gamewinner) and DET (completely stagnant offense with no AD) before a tight victory against BOS. Overall the team has been leaning on Lebron and AD fairly hard as the 6th Men work to find chemistry still. Vogel continues varying minutes and lineups to learn more of how to unlock this team's full potential commenting on Caruso's minutes being stabilized to keep him healthy for the Playoffs while maximizing his impact while he's on the floor. Lakers dropping to 3rd in the conference as UTA and LAC stay strong while PHI remains the eminent power in the East puts the Lakers as 4th in the League's power rankings.
3	Jazz	+3	15-5	You might not know it but we are currently witnessing the greatest 3 point shooting season by a team in NBA History. The Utah Jazz set a NBA record for three pointers in a month (making 285 in January), are currently averaging the most threes per game in NBA history (17.0) and shooting 40.0% from beyond the arc. This has been the biggest catalyst for Utah's success in 2020-21 as the team has won 11 of 12 games and currently ranks 2nd in the league by W/L record despite lacking a traditional offensive superstar duo like most of the league's top teams. Mike Conley continues to lead the league in +/-, Jordan Clarkson leads all bench scorers in points per game and with opposition teams scoring 14.5 points per 100 possessions fewer with Rudy Gobert on the court, the Stifle Tower remains the premier defender in the NBA.
4	76ers	+1	15-6	Going 6-1 in this last stretch with Embiid playing at an MVP level would certainly be enough to justify the Sixers' ranking this week, but everyone knows what this was all about. The Sixers passed their first true test against the Lakers and, while they may have needed a game winner at the end, they led the game with a relatively comfortable margin almost wire to wire almost every other minute. With Ben Simmons looking much more aggressive, health finally returning to the starting lineup, and Embiid playing at his top level, the Sixers have earned their spot as a title contender. The team may look rough without Embiid (needing to beat a 16 point deficit in the 4th to get their first Embiid-less win), but their title hopes live and die with him anyway.
5	Nets	-1	13-9	The Nets offense has been historic in the few games with the Big 3. Unfortunately, the defense has been too - and for all the wrong reasons. The Nets filled out 2 of our roster spots with Norvel Pelle and Iman Shumpert, two defensive minded guys that won't have to offer much offensively. Look for them to use our remaining roster spot during the buyout market on another center.
6	Nuggets	+6	12-8	The Nuggets may have read the last rankings, as they took the "trending in the right direction" blurb and rode it to the Moon, finishing January as winners of 6 of their last 7 games. While the impact of Michael Porter Jr. returning from the protocol cannot be understated, the team has played more cohesive basketball recently, and the supporting cast around Nikola Jokic has stepped up to the task and returned to last season's form. The Nuggets have plenty of winnable games on the slate for February, which will be vital for the team to carry momentum into the early playoffs this season in March.
7	Bucks	-4	11-8	Things have not looked up for the Bucks since our last rankings, going 2-4 in 6 games. During that stretch opposing teams have shot us out of the gym. In the last 3 games, we gave up more points from 3 than in any 3 game stretch in NBA history. It's hard to say how much of this is due to bad luck, but the scheme certainly isn't helping and boy is it hard to watch.
8	Celtics	-1	10-8	Imma be real. I marked tf out while watching the Royal Rumble (typing this about 2 hours after it ended) and jumped when I shouldn't have, and absolutely murdered my head on the ceiling and I'm like a solid 80% sure I gave myself a concussion as I'm feeling nauseous and my head hurts really bad and I've lost my balance a bit. The show must go on though, just like the Celtics must go on after the injury to Marcus Smart. What looked like an absolutely brutal injury on the slowmo replay turned out to be just a calf strain, and he's expected to be out 2-3 weeks. Since the last rankings the Celtics are 2-4, but Tatum is finally back so things are at least somewhat looking up. We might use the TPE on the corpse of JJ Redick too so... Yay? Between now and the next rankings the Celtics play 8 times, with matchups against the Warriors, Kings, Clippers, Suns, Jazz, Raptors, Pistons, and Wizards. Now if you all will excuse me, I think I'm going to go to the hospital.
9	Pacers	--	11-9	The Pacers went an uninspiring 3-5 over the past two weeks, capped off by an abysmal loss to a Joel Embiid-less 76ers team in which they held a 16 point lead with 8 minutes to go. Indiana still has barely played at full strength this season, and they will be waiting a while longer, as T.J. Warren still has not returned from a foot injury. In bittersweet news, Pacers fans will have to wait for Caris LeVert to make his team debut, but thankfully, he is expected make a full recovery after a cancerous mass was removed from his kidney.
10	Suns	-2	10-8	Some ups and downs recently but still staying afloat despite suffering various injuries (Booker and Payne) and COVID positive tests (Saric, Jones, Smith). The team's biggest strugles have been in crunchtime, evident as the Suns were leading within 2:15 left in regulation in five their last six losses. They are a good enough team to be 15-3 but have played poorly enough in key moments to deserve their 10-8 record.
11	Trail Blazers	-1	10-8	As long as Damian Lillard dons the scarlet and black, Portland will never be a bottom dweller. The six points in 8 seconds he put up against Chicago is likely a top 10 career moment (so far), and helped right the ship in Portland after a rough few games. Helping him along the way has been Gary Trent Jr, who has averaged 21 points on incredible efficiency in the three games he's started for injured CJ McCollum. That said, with all the injuries, not even herioc efforts from Portland's remaining guards will be able to stave off losses for long. If Portland hopes to stay in the playoff pictures they desperately need at least some of their supporting cast to stay healthy - particularly Robert Covington and Derrick Jones Jr - until Nurkic and McCollum can return.
12	Grizzlies	+3	8-6	Ja has returned earlier than expected, and we have been winning more than our share of games. Young sharpshooter Desmond Bane is looking like another steal for the Grizzlies late in the draft.
13	Warriors	+1	11-9	Since last rankings Warriors sported a top 5 defense. They are now 11th overall in DRating. Wiseman has had a couple of great games despite being benched in favor of Looney in the starting line up. Steph is at 40% from 3 and is sitting 4th quarters. Warriors have had a light schedule these past couple weeks and go on a road trip facing mini series against the Mavs and Spurs after their home game against the Celtics tomorrow.
14	Spurs	-1	11-9	It's been a bit of an up-and-down stretch for the Spurs the last two weeks, with some huge wins (namely over Portland, Denver and Boston) coupled with some frustrating losses (Golden State and Memphis). However, despite the frustrating parts, the Spurs have looked more consistent and cohesive as an overall roster this season than at really any point last season (maybe The Bubble notwithstanding), and we've done that while getting only two games from arguably our Bubble MVP in Derrick White, who returned against Memphis over the weekend. The Spurs in particular have been incredibly adept at taking care of the ball (1st in the league at only 11 TO/G) and currently hold the best Assist:TO ratio in league history, according to the Spurs' broadcast over the weekend—quite an impressive achievement for a young team indeed! With White returning, expect the Spurs to continue to be a surprising annoyance to the top teams in the league, as Dejounte Murray continues to take the next step in his evolution as a player, DeMar continues to "overperform" as the league's 82nd best player, and with Keldon Johnson making waves with his hyper-aggressive, energetic style of play. Looking ahead, the Spurs have a chance for revenge tonight against Memphis, along with games against Minnesota, Houston, a B2B against Golden State, and a game against Atlanta over the next two weeks.
15	Hawks	+6	10-9
16	Rockets	+9	9-9	Having to navigate through injuries, sickness, and trades has made Silas's job a very difficult one in his rookie season as a head coach. Now that he finally has a handle on the lineup, he is doing a fantastic job. The WOW trio has gelled very well together, the defense is locked in, and a couple of undrafted rookies in Tate and Jones are exceeding all expectations. This combination of factors has propelled the Rockets to a 5W streak. Who knows? Maybe Oladipo will stay after all.
17	Mavericks	-6	8-12	To put it lightly, it's been a rough first month+ of the season. Porzingis is still battling staying healthy, the team has been hit by Covid, which has made it hard to build chemistry, and the team is not hitting 3s. The Mavs rank dead last in the league in 3P%, yet are a team that lives and dies by the 3. Luckily for them, their 3 point defense has been efficient, and should continue to stay in the top 10 with their best defenders returning. As the schedule eases up, the next two weeks will be a crucial test for the Mavs.
18	Hornets	+2	9-11	It’s been an up and down season for the Hornets so far, alternating winning and losing streaks and attempting to stay afloat in East playoff (or at least play-in) contention. Gordon Hayward has shown he’s a viable #1 option; he can easily average 20+ PPG all season as long as he’s healthy. Back to back wins against the Pacers and Bucks (the second including an excellent performance from rookie LaMelo Ball) show that the Hornets are better than NBA media said we’d be, and that feels good. Also, LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges, a.k.a. Air BnB, is a combination to watch for in the future, which is looking brighter for Charlotte every day!
20	Cavaliers	-1	9-11	Our already bad offense has trailed off over the last few games, leading to us losing 4 of 5. The shots just aren’t falling, no matter where they’re coming from. This team desperately needs the return of Kevin Love for his offensive output and space creation. Defenses are swarming Sexland, leading to contested shots, or shots having to come late in the clock from Okoro, Nance, or Drummond. Opponents will keep doing exactly that until we figure out how to punish.
20	Raptors	+3	8-12	More disappointing weeks from the raptors. Our only wins against good teams seem to be coming from teams plagued by injuries or Covid (Dallas/Miami), with one nice win coming against Indiana. Our 4th quarter play continues to struggle, our defence is a shell of its former self, and our overall effort on the court seems abysmal. Thankfully there’s been some bright spots in Yuta Watanabe and Stanley Johnson, but the team still appears unclear of its direction. Too good to tank, and not good enough to win.
21	Knicks	+2	9-12	"Quickness is the essence of war" -Sun Tzu
22	Heat	-5	7-12	Things haven't gone much better since the last time we checked in. We finally ended our losing skid and we've got Jimmy Butler back, so things should start trending up. The majority of our losses during our winless streak were with a point difference of 10 or less points, but we also got shellacked by teams that I felt were on a similar level to ourselves. We're entering a comparitively easy stretch of opponents (record wise), but it's also against teams that have historically done well against us. We will also enter this stretch POTENTIALLY missing Tyler Herro after he had close contact with his housemate who's got COVID. Thankfully, the conference is still fairly close to each other so all we need is a nice stretch of games and we could see ourselves back in the middle of the hunt. It hurts to possibly lose Tyler again right after he came back but that's the unfortunate reality of the past year or so. :gem: :raised_hands:
23	Thunder	+1	8-10	For the first time since before Paul George injured his shoulder, we can say that Oklahoma City's roster is now performing about as well as expected. A DORT-led victory over rival Portland mere days after the announcement of a Lillard shoe commemorating that shot brought smiles and memes of schadenfreude to the fanbase despite several brutally uncompetitive losses to high-end teams like Brooklyn and LAC. Another bright spot has been Aleksej Pokusevski's improvement to possibly looking like an NBA player after all. Otherwise, the most exciting moment for Thunder fans lately has been watching old hero Russell Westbrook put on shows like old times in Washington this week.
24	Kings	+3	8-11	Now a over a month into the season the Kings remain within striking distance of a potential play-in seed. Given the feel around the team it would be quite fitting to end the playoff drought on a cinderella play-in run. The Kings have won three of their last four games, beating the Eastern Conference Powerhouse New York Knicks and only losing to the defending Eastern Conference Champions. This is in part thanks to Buddy Hield seeming to put his early shooting slump behind him and though Tyrese Haliburton has cooled off slightly, he's continued providing quality minutes off the bench.
26	Bulls	--	7-11	Look. I've seen a lot of "LaVine must be mad/wants out/can't carry" comments lately from non-Bulls-fans. I understand that most Bulls games aren't drawing tons of viewers, but as one of them I can promise yall that's not what's happening here. The Bulls are playing almost to the level we wanted them to be at, and it's not a LaVine carry job, though he is clearly our best player and an All-Star. The major errors on this team are mental, and our tough schedule so far is showing the effects of youth on a team's ability to close out. Unfortunately, starting C Wendell Carter Jr. will miss about 4 weeks with a quad injury, so although our schedule is set to get easier for now, the team is now counting on Thaddeus Young, Daniel Gafford, and god forbid Cristiano Felicio to pick up most of the center minutes.
26	Pelicans	-8	7-11	We kinda suck right now. The offense has started to get figured out, but in the meantime the defense has suffered a total and utter collapse. Pushing the pace has allowed Lonzo and others to come alive on the offensive end. But at the same time has sent them back into the same mindset as previous seasons, where the defensive end requires no effort and the team just tried to out score their opponents.
27	Magic	-11	8-13	Man, injuries suck and we suck. BIG TIME. At least Vuc has All-Star potential and Cole got this insane game winner.
28	Pistons	+2	5-15
29	Wizards	-1	4-12	Beating the Nets in probably the game of the year yesterday almost makes the three preceding blowout losses to the likes of New Orleans, John Wall, and Atlanta worth it.
30	TWolves	-1	5-14	The Wolves have not been very good without Karl-Anthony Towns but a bright spot for the team over the last 5 games has been Anthony Edwards who has been averaging 19 ppg over the last 5 games and showing signs that the NBA game is slowing down for him.

Governor's COVID-19 news conference scheduled for 1/28 at 2:30 p.m.

LINKS TO WATCH

NOTE: Louisiana is currently in a modified Phase 2 that is set to expire on February 10th.

Summary

Gov. John Bel Edwards (JBE)

Today we have confirmed 2nd and 3rd confirmed cases of the UK COVID variant B.1.1.7, in Region 5 (centered around Lake Charles), this second in Region 1 (New Orleans area).
- Variant is in over 20+ states.
- CDC is currently evaluating an additional 14 cases from Louisiana.
We know it transmits more easily (50% more).
- More critical to mask and socially distance now.
**CDC announced that the Brazilian and South African variants are also in the US.
- These have not been confirmed in Louisiana yet.**
UK variant could become the predominant strain in March.
- Between now and then it is essential to get the baseline numbers down before they get too high.
- Percentage of tests coming back positive, cases, deaths, hospitalizations.
  - Need to get these numbers down before this variant becomes predominant and causes surges on its own from being more easily transmitted.
  - If we combine the increase in transmissibility of the new variant with a change in behavior that decreases mitigation measure we will be in a very difficult place.
Currently in a bad place due to our high numbers and the concern about the current variants.
- Know it's more transmissible but data is being gathered to see if it's more deadly and if the vaccines are as effective against these strains.
General Keith Wedell of the National Guard has tested positive for COVID19.
- Working remotely as he isolates at home.
Our baseline numbers are too high and the lagging indicator is deaths. So even as our numbers slowly improve in cases and hospitalizations the deaths have not.
Louisiana surpassed 5 million tests since our last briefing.
2,517 new cases reported off of 35,914 tests.
Sadly 55 new deaths reported today.
1,590 COVID patients in Louisiana hospitals.
206 are on Mechanical ventilation.
A few weeks ago Dr. Birx said we should get hospitalizations down to 500 in Louisiana and we are more than 3x that.
- Draining on our healthcare system especially on staffing.
Current message is very consistent of what we have talked about over the last 10 months, it follows what the CDC and the White House says:
- Wear a mask.
- Stay 6 ft away from people who don't live in the same household as you.
- Wash your hands often.
- Stay home when sick.
- Protect the vulnerable (those 65+ or with comorbidities).
  - Do not go into an indoors pace where 1 more person are unmasked.
- Get vaccinated when it is your turn.
  - It is safe, effective, and is the only way to put this pandemic behind us.
Vaccine Information
- Will stay with current priority groups for now; Currently eligible for the vaccine:
  - Phase 1A
  - Phase 1B Tier 1
- Total number of doses administered to date is 397,371 so we are right at 400,00 doses administered and the number of second doses is 59,000.
- Total number of enrolled providers is 1,918.
  - Large number for a state our size and reflects the hard work done by the Department of Health early on.
  - As more vaccine becomes available over time we have more providers to ship it to.
    - Do not currently have enough vaccine yet to have every provider engaged.
- Administering in all 64 using 324 providers and next week we will have more than 400 providers administering doses across Louisiana.
- Louisiana ranks 16th among states for how well the state has utilized vaccines.
  - Testament to the providers and Department of Health, but am not satisfied because we can do better.
- Greatest challenge is the amount of vaccine available to us. Starting next week we will increase by 16%. We were basically flat for 4 straight weeks in the number of vaccine doses we were receiving.
  - Will receive over 67,350 doses for next week.
  - Increase of 16% is in respect to Moderna who are providing 38,100 doses.
  - Pfizer remains flat.
- White House understands we need information further out than what we were originally provided so the state is ready to execute at a high level when the vaccine comes in.
  - We Will now have 3 weeks of data relative to the amount of vaccine we will receive so we can plan.
  - Previously would get information on Tuesday, it was confirmed on Thursday when you would place orders for what would come in on Monday. Between Monday and Friday, we would communicate with providers on what they would receive.
    - The three-week notice will REALLY help.
- Anxiously await additional vaccines getting approved for use.
  - Johnson & Johnson more likely to come next.
    - Single-dose vaccine which is logistically easier to coordinate.
The LDH updates vaccine breakdowns by race, age, and region.
- All problems in data collection haven't been fixed but optimistic what is in place will improve greatly over the next week and two.
  - Will know more information regarding race, we cannot address what we don't know, so if there's an inequity out there we cannot address it.
    - LDH working greatly to address these challenges.

Dr. Joseph Kanter, LDH

Thanks gov and says good afternoon everybody!
Appears we have peaked in terms of cases coming down a little bit.
- Trajectory is encouraging but int is awfully high, we are still at the same amount or higher than our peak in July.
- Risk of COVID is still very risky, about as high as we have ever been.
Cannot accept our new normal is reporting between 40-80 new deaths daily.
8.6% positivity rate for yesterday.
- Anything about 5% is dire and we are still well above that.
Hospitalization likewise we have stepped away from the cliff, we weathered the past surge without overwhelming the hospitals.
- Still very busy hospitals no doubt.
We have a rough road ahead as the Governor eluded to with the confirmation of the B.1.1.7 variant (UK variant).
- 2nd case for New Orleans area.
- 1st case for Lake Charles area.
- 8 in Region 1 and 6 in Region 5 pending CDC confirmation right now.
  - We do not a lot of genomic sequencing in this country when compared to others. When you have 1-2 identified cases we know there is a mountain below that.
- We have more of the UK variant circulating in this state than what has been confirmed so far.
  - It will spread and continue to grow and by March we anticipate it being the dominant strain in March.
  - Similar to what we found in the sunup to Christmas and New Years'. High cases after Thanksgiving and we knew it was a rough spot, we knew the holidays were coming and things would get worse. We are in a similar position now knowing the variant is out there and will spread.
    - Need to get as much yardage as we can while we have the cases going in the right direction so when the variant takes over and increases our cases again we have set ourselves up for as much mitigation as possible.
- It's about mitigating the spread at this point.
Vaccine news.
- 67,350 - Total doses
  - 29,250 - Pfizer (flat for 3 weeks)
  - 38,100 - Moderna
    - 9,200 of those are the additional 17% we will receive.
- 438,100 - first doses have been sent to us of which 93,600 have gone to the long-term care partnership leaving 344,500 first doses for true instant allocation.
  - Conclusion of next week that will bring just o 505,450 first doses minus the 93,600 diverted to long term leaving a total to instate allocation of first doses at the end of last week 411,850.
CDC tracker numbers shown on there are inclusive of first and second doses, numbers shared here are first doses, the CDC also has a few day lags.
- Reason for discrepancies.
When we have more than 50% of vaccine information unknown it is hard to breakdown racial equity.
Long Term Care Partnership Program there has been a total 28,038 administered (majority in nursing homes), 19,149 residents and 8,889 in staff.
- Will complete first round of vaccination in nursing homes by 2/8.
Vaccination Myths - Disinformation
- Why are we talking about this now why demand surpasses supply.
  - People who have an opportunity to get the vaccine aren't because they are buying into myths.
  - Looking ahead to when there is more supply.
mRNA technology is new.
- That is not true at all. The technology has been around for years and it has been used in Cancer therapeutics for years. We've just never produced them at the volume we need to produce these vaccines.
- Research was devoted after SARS to this as well.
- Platform is tried and true but having the technology to use it to the vaccine at this scale is an exciting new development, but the technology has been around for a while and is a very safe way to administer vaccines.
What type of symptoms a person experiences
- It is not possible for these vaccines to give you COVID.
  - No live virus involved at all.
  - Older vaccines may have used a vaccine as a host but these new vaccines do not rely on alive or dead viruses.
- Does take time for the vaccine to develop efficacy you are not 100% protracted immediately upon getting the shot so people can still contract COVID after the vaccine while the vaccine builds up efficacy.
- Produces an immune response kinda like showing a picture to say "hey remember this face if you see this guy again" and your body recognizes that and produces an immune response. This immune response is what causes people to feel a little achy, feverish, or run down it just means the vaccine is working. That's how I felt after I got each shot it just is your body telling you it's working.
Not possible for this vaccine to be entered into your DNA.
- mRNA material never enters the nucleus in the cell (command center) it never gets integrated into someone's DNA it actually degrades very easily. It is enough to show your body that mugshot and then your body degrades it and it's gone, but your body has seen it so it's starting to make antibodies against it.
Zero evidence that these vaccines have any impairment of female fertility.
- Absolutely no suggestion of evidence these vaccines do anything to fertility. Women of childbearing age who are eligible should 100% receive the vaccine. There is absolutely no evidence or a plausible mechanism these vaccines can impair someone's fertility.

Questions

Go through the numbers again on the long term partnership program and it seems a very low percentage of people who have been vaccinated based on previous numbers we have been given
The numbers were 28,038 total broken down to 19,439 for residents, and 8,889 for staff. No doubt we would prefer the program going faster but I am encouraged the uptake rate amongst residents is about 69% and staff has been 26% but we believe when they go back for the second visit (they make 3 total) we believe a lot more of the staff will take part. All in all the program is going well. It's getting good reviews we just wish it was going faster, no question.
When will they stop making the visits at the various facilities
It's a rolling program, by February 8th every nursing home in the state at least every nursing home in the state will have had the first visit.
What happens if nursing home residents decide if they want a vaccine after the 3rd visit
There will be opportunities, we haven't figured it out yet, the population is not static people do come in and get discharged, there will be opportunities but we haven't figured out what that will look like.
Biden administration says you will have a 3-week window what are the shipments looking like for week 2 and 3 out from now will it inlace the bump up?
Yes to all of those questions. We haven't been told definitely of the two to three-week allotments yet but we have been lead to believe it will be relatively steady to what we have this week, so the increase we have this week will be factored into the next few weeks. It is encouraging but hasn't been 100% confirmed for us.
How do we know the vaccines work against the new variants?
At the moment it's mainly been in vitro (lab tests) primarily the companies running tests against the variant to see if they work of course we really want to see population data. Such as the UK, to see how effective it is. Normally that information follows closely with this type of laboratory data. We feel encouraged in the conversations we have had with Dr. Fauci, perhaps less so for the Brazilian and South African variants, but even if it's not 95% effective the way it is with the dominant strain it will produce some protection which is significant and should not be disregarded. Down the road, a booster or adjustment may need to be necessary but that's a small problem to have. It is not all or nothing.
Is the LDH working on a system where an average citizen can see what inventory a pharmacy has or which ones are out
We've thought about that. A couple of states have gone to a unified scheduling system and that has produced more nightmares than good. When they work well its great and when it goes down it goes down or the whole state. I've heard of multiple states lost days of vaccination due to this and other states that they are on their 3rd vendor of those types of programs because the first two didn't work the best. WE are balancing our decisions and the jury is still out.
Gove JBE

Download the new app at coviddefensela.com
- More than 30,000 downloads since we launched last Friday.
Mitigation measures
- Hopefully more people will do the thing we talk about.
- Remains critically important.
- Wear a mask.
- Stay 6 ft away from people who don't live in the same household as you.
- Wash your hands often.
- Stay home when sick.
- Protect the vulnerable (those 65+ or with comorbidities).
  - Do not go into an indoors pace where 1 more person are unmasked.
- Get vaccinated when it is your turn.
Supply of vaccines does not meet demand but there is a mask for anyone who needs one.
Anyone who wants to be a good neighbor will wear a mask.
- Also protects the wearer as well.

Questions

What is the number of doses lost
295 as of this morning and we take everyone to heart. The majority has been small numbers (1-3) because a vial dropped or an honest mistake was made when it was diluted, or something got spoiled, some got out of temperature when transported. We do a full review when this happens to address how we can prevent these things from happening in the future. Working with utilities to prioritize areas that have the vaccine. Some states have had large numbers like 4,000 in Maine and we've had nothing of that magnitude. We'll keep updating you as it comes in.
Are you concerned about the 26% of nursing homes staff that seems really low
We are concerned. This is somewhat anecdotal and limited, I have had better visibility into that at the war veteran homes, I can tell you the number of the staff that get their 1st dose during the second visit from the CVS/Walgreens is more than 2x as many than during the first visit. If that holds true for the nursing homes that is a huge step to get everyone vaccinated. We are just starting our second visit to nursing homes in Louisiana. The first visit to some assisted living centers is actually starting now. I am somewhat gratified by what we are seeing in the war veteran homes in respect to the question you asked. I encourage everyone to get the vaccine when they are able. In regards to the question if those staff or residents don't get the vaccine during the long-term care vaccine partnership... just like we aren't turning off the phases they will have opportunities to be vaccinated in the future as well. We encourage them to get it now because time is of the essence and will not be more convenient than now when CVS/Walgreens come directly to you.
Based on the numbers it seems there will be left overdoses in the program. What happens to the 10s of thousands of left overdoses
Those doses are allocated to Louisiana we do not get them because they go to the Louisiana long-term partnership but in the event, they do not use them we call them back. For the past few weeks, we have been holding back their allocation they requested because it didn't match up with the speed they were delivering doses and we didn't want doses sitting anywhere that could go into the arm of someone in Louisiana. We have been trying very hard to match the number of doses going to the long-term care partnership tight encumber that is actually going into people's arms. If we ever detected they are oversupplied and not using those doses they will be taken back. How many we need is depending on the update we have. It is impossible that one the first and second visits to the nursing homes and assisted living centers we will have X amount of doses because we do not know the amount residents and staff will want the vaccines.
Will the new variant bring any more additional factors under the gating criteria
To the extent, it increases case positivity and hospitalizations those are the gating criteria so the answer is yes. Based on the 3 cases we have right now, no. I have not been given any guidance from the Office of Public Health, CDC, or White House. We haven't received any information that we should tighten up our restrictions now because of those variants. In fact we are somewhat heartened to see the trajectory we were on is much better today, we have at least plateau and perhaps if we see improving numbers over time, but the most alarming thing is the sheer degree in the amount of COVID in our community. The numbers are really really high, sometimes people focus on if we are getting better or worse, but you also have to look at where you are at. If you are getting better but are a very high level of community spread that has to factor into the decisions we make in regards to what is reasonable in the behavior we engage in at work or with our family. That is why the mitigation measure is important, and perhaps more important than they have ever been. I understand people are tired of them but the virus and in particular these new variants don't care. It would be a shame if we get closer to getting everyone vaccinated to prevent everyone from getting the disease because we have less time to go than what we did last March.

Closing remarks

Get your information from reliable sources like the LDH, FDA, and CDC.
Let's pull together and continue to pray for one another let's work together and be good neighbors to one another.
It is still the case that we can show one another how much we care for one another by doing the mitigation measures. Outsider is always safer than inside, all of those things still matter. Those people who have been more vulnerable to this disease remain more vulnerable.
Deaths are still comprised of the same people (primarily older folks) but not exclusively.
- We still have young people, those who were very healthy without any known comorbid health conditions, who have very serious cases of COVID19 that require hospitalization and quite often result in death. This is a very serious situation.

Post Divisional Round Mock (w/trades)

Side note: I made this before Phillip Rivers retired, the next mock will likely have something very different happening.
Mock Draft
TRADES
SAN FRAN 49ERS send 1.12, 2.43, and 2022 1st for MIAMI DOLPHINS 1.3
HOUSTON TEXANS send EDGE J. Watt for ATLANTA FALCONS 1.4
SAN FRAN 49ERS send QB J. Garoppolo for DETROIT LIONS 1.7
DETROIT LIONS send QB M. Stafford for DENVER BRONCOS 1.9, 2.40, and 2022 1st
NEW YORK JETS send QB S. Darnold for MINNESOTA VIKINGS 1.14
HOUSTON TEXANS send QB D. Watson for NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 1.15, and CB S. Gilmore
ATLANTA FALCONS send WR J. Jones for INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 1.21, and 2.54
DRAFT
1 JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS Pick: Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson
The Jets did the most Jets thing ever and won enough games to literally change the course of history. Congrats Jets, you played yourselves.
2 NEW YORK JETS Pick: Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State
Whoever takes over the Jets front office cannot pass up on this opportunity to rebrand a franchise in desperate need of rebranding. Fields has had some troubles but nothing so concerning to make him fall from QB2.
3 SAN FRAN 49ERS (via Miami and Houston) Pick: Zach Wilson, QB, BYU
I know three QBS in the first three picks sounds ridiculous but I could see this happening. Miami benefits from more picks, and Shanahan benefits from having a new toy to play with.
4 HOUSTON TEXANS Pick: DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama
Smiths production this year was absolutely absurd. So absurd it got him a heisman. JJ Watt no longer wants to be involved with Houston and so the Texans let him go. Atlanta needs a pass rush to put pressure on guys like Brady, and Watt looks like he can play at a high level for a few more years which could help Atlanta who needs to rebuild. This might just work out for both sides.
5 CINCINNATI BENGALS Pick: Penei Sewell, T, Oregon
Bengals fans rejoice! Sewell falls out of the top three (where he belongs) and into the lap of Cincinnati. The Bengals protect Joe Burrow, who is looking to have a real impact next year.
6 PHILADELPHIA EAGLES Pick: Ja’Marr Chase, WR, LSU
Chase is really a 1B to Smiths 1A in my opinion. This is a great grab for the Eagles who need some weapons around Jalen Hurts.
7 SAN FRAN 49ERS (via Detroit) Pick: Caleb Farley, CB, Virginia Tech
After watching tape on the top talents Farley was a player I fell in love with instantly. He’s a lanky ball hawking corner. Hes shown great man and press coverage, and zone ability as well. With the 49ers losing Sherman in the offseason this year, this pick makes a ton of sense.
8 CAROLINA PANTHERS Pick: Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State
Panthers get their Luke Kuechly replacement. Parsons has shown ability to play sideline to sideline ball. He can stop the run and defend the pass with relative ease. In my eye, Parsons is a top 5 talent but falls due to demand for other players.
9 DETROIT LIONS (via Denver) Pick: Gregory Rousseau, EDGE, Miami
Detroit needs to add some firepower to their DLine, and Rousseau is the man for the job. By moving back to this pick, they get a good player at a good value while adding more picks to build this team
10 DALLAS COWBOYS Pick: Patrick Surtain II, CB, Alabama
Surtain is a solid corner, and the Cowboys defense is in desperate need of a guy with Surtains talent. If Dak doesn’t walk in the off-season, this pick should work out this way.
11 NEW YORK GIANTS Pick: Rashawn Slater, T, Northwestern
Chase Young plays in the NFCE and protecting Daniel Jones should be a priority. I think Jones can be the guy for New York if they put the right pieces around him, and Slater definitely has the potential to be one of those pieces
12 MIAMI DOLPHIN (via San Francisco) Pick: Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama
I think trading back is really good for Miami, and in this scenario, it really works out. Their receiver room is in need of someone with Waddles skillset. As an additional plus, Tua is familiar with Waddle and may feel more comfortable with him on the field.
13 LOS ANGELES CHARGERS Pick: Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, LB, Notre Dame
I think the Chargers can afford to take BPA with this pick and Owusu is the BPA at this point. A solid pick up for a team who needs to find a way to get Patrick Mahomes uncomfortable.
14 NEW YORK JETS (via Minnesota) Pick: Kwity Paye, EDGE, Michigan
I believe Paye will test well and deserve to be picked up here. The Jets defense needs someone who can rush the passer off the edge. Meanwhile, Minnesota gets Darnold who I believe deserves a second chance.
15 HOUSTON TEXANS (via New England) Pick: Mac Jones, QB, Alabama
I don’t find it likely that Watson gets traded, but if he does I think the Texans could get the most benefit from this trade. Jones is a solid QB and I think he’s worth the pick at this range, plus Houston gets a lockdown corner in Gilmore.
16 ARIZONA CARDINALS Pick: Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida
Pitts is an explosive weapon who creates mismatches with his size and speed. He could be a great addition to Arizona’s offense.
17 LAS VEGAS RAIDERS Pick: Jaycee Horn, CB, South Carolina
The Raiders defense is a bit lackluster and could use some playmakers. Horn is a solid guy who can be a strong piece for Vegas.
18 MIAMI DOLPHINS Pick: Wyatt Davis, C/G, Ohio State
Miami continues to build around and protect Tua. Davis can also help out the run game which is an aspect of the offense that could use some help.
19 WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM Pick: Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State
I don’t personally think Lance is NFL ready however, we all know another quarterback who wasn’t quite NFL ready when he was drafted but learned under Alex Smith. You would hope Lance doesn’t have the same attitude issues as Dwayne Haskins.
20 CHICAGO BEARS Pick: Rashod Bateman, WR, Minnesota
I know this is an unpopular opinion but I think Trubisky can be the guy for Chicago IF and ONLY IF Nagy and company are ready to scheme around him. Anyways, a take that’s not quite as hot, the Bears need guys to catch the ball and Bateman is a solid guy.
21 ATLANTA FALCONS (via Indianapolis) Pick: Samuel Cosmi, T, Texas
Cosmi reminds me of Tristan Wirfs from last year. I think his stock will rise post combine, however right now I have him ranked down here. Atlanta picks him up to help protect Matt Ryan (or whoever becomes the guy moving forward) while also getting a few picks for a solid veteran player.
22 TENNESSEE TITANS Pick: Joseph Ossai, LB, Texas
Ossai is a talented guy, and I think the Titans defense would benefit from his presence. I believe Ossai will test well enough for him to get picked up here.
23 NEW YORK JETS (via Seattle) Pick: Christian Darrisaw, T, Virginia Tech
The Jets use the pick they got for Adams to protect their new QB. Darrisaw is a solid guy who just happened to fall to this pick. Jet fans should be happy with how he performs.
24 PITTSBURGH STEELERS Pick: Kyle Trask, QB, Florida
This pick might surprise or upset a few people but Green Bay did the same thing last year by drafting Love. Trask obviously needs to sit for a year, and Roethlisberger can be a good mentor.
25 JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (via Los Angeles Rams) Pick: Alex Leatherwood, T, Alabama
Time to protect Lawrence. You can’t let a kid with this much potential just sit out there and take hits. Leatherwood is a skilled blocker and should be able to help the Jags OLine in a big way.
26 CLEVELAND BROWNS Pick: Zaven Collins, EDGE, Tulsa
The Browns pass rush is virtually non existent. Myles Garrett hasn’t looked the same after covid, and I don’t think anyone can say whether or not he’ll return to full form. Collins can add some power to the Browns DLine.
27 BALTIMORE RAVENS Pick: Rondale Moore, WR, Perdue
The Ravens need a guy with solid hand who can make plays. Moore fits that need, and helps build around Lamar Jackson who still has a ton of potential left in him.
28 NEW ORLEANS SAINTS Pick: Jaylen Mayfield, T, Michigan
In this mock, the Saints miss out on a QB in the draft but give Jamies Winston a incentive laden prove it deal. Anyways they invest in protecting Winston or whoever will take the reins after Drew Brees (likely) retires this season.
29 TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS Pick: Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson
The Bucs are in full win now mode. They’re in the best position to win the NFCS next season and need to expand on that in every way possible. Etienne will give the Bucs a solid three down back who can be explosive in all aspects of the game.
30 BUFFALO BILLS Pick: Nick Bolton, LB, Missouri
Bolton projects as an outside guy who can play the run and rush the passer. Bolton’s not great in coverage but the Bills other defensive players can help Bolton learn.
31 GREEN BAY PACKERS Pick: Pat Frieirmuth, TE, Penn State
The Packers offense is already pretty strong but Frieirmuth I’m has been hailed as the next Gronk, and the Pack shouldn’t just pass up the opportunity to have him in their offense for the next few years.
32 KANSAS CITY CHIEFS Pick: Dylan Moses, LB, Alabama
Dylan Moses falls to Kansas. The Chiefs defense has been pretty good but they’ll need to continue to invest in it in order to continue their supremacy in the league.

N.B.A. Hopes for ‘as Close to a Normal Season as Possible’

The first team to take up residence at the N.B.A. bubble in July was one of the first to be assigned a road trip last week. The Orlando Magic on Thursday afternoon boarded a team flight for the first time since March and made the short journey to Atlanta to jump-start a season like no other.Upon arrival, Orlando’s 47-passenger contingent — including two coronavirus testers — was divided up and ushered onto four separate buses to maximize social distancing. Players were reminded to avoid the hotel gift shop and crowded elevators and were instructed to stay on the hotel property, apart from visits to a nearby Whole Foods Market.“I don’t know if it’s going to be like that all season long,” Orlando’s Evan Fournier said in a phone interview. “I still don’t know what I’m really allowed to do. I guess that’s what the preseason is for.”Dress rehearsals, for a league adjusting to new realities, are indeed underway. Tuesday marked Day 5 for the N.B.A.’s rapid-fire exhibition schedule — with a countdown clock in the bottom left-hand corner of NBA TV, the league’s official channel, offering repeated reminders that next Tuesday’s opening night for the 2020-21 season is fast approaching.As Fournier noted, N.B.A. teams are trying to make road life as restrictive as possible, hoping to keep their traveling parties safe with the coronavirus still surging across the country. It’s way too soon to say the league’s measures are working, when leaguewide travel has just begun, but Fournier sounded refreshingly hopeful when we spoke, saying he feels safe given the players’ daily testing, combined with as many old bubble practices as teams are able to replicate now that they’re on the move.The French guard joked Saturday on Twitter, in his native language, that he was getting sick of himself after three days in the same Atlanta hotel room, but Fournier left little doubt in our chat that he was “super happy” to be back on the court for two games against the Hawks.“It’s so much better than just being in the bubble, in my opinion, because we actually get to travel and play in real arenas,” Fournier said.You can understand the sentiment. Everyone who plays and works in the league knows that the restricted-access village erected by the N.B.A. at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla., was by far the safest way to conduct business and finish the 2019-20 season, but no one wanted to do it again because of the mental-health toll exacted by long stays behind Disney’s gates, cut off from the outside world.So the N.B.A. will try to do it this way, with nearly 160 pages of safety guidelines for teams to follow to try to keep the coronavirus from infiltrating practices and mostly fan-less arenas, even as the increasing (and at times farcical) ineffectiveness of college football and basketball in combating the virus suggests that major disruptions are looming. The N.F.L., without a bubble, has likewise had countless troubles.A month ago, as the draft and free agency approached, I wrote about how strange it was to see and hear so little public concern about the daunting challenges that the N.B.A. would face this winter, when medical experts were rightly predicting an alarming spike in Covid-19 cases. Not much has changed in the weeks since — James Harden’s uncertain future in Houston gets far more coverage from the basketball media than health issues — but I do get it. The virus has been a constant in our lives for nine months. Many have grown weary of worrying.It was thus so tempting, starting Friday night, to get swept up in the basketball as the preseason began. Training camps landed a little later on the calendar than usual, but this, after all, is the time of year for just that — for all teams and their fans to dream before the games start counting.John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins have looked healthier and livelier than the Houston Rockets, who are otherwise soaked in the drama of the disgruntled Harden, could have hoped. Golden State’s Stephen Curry returned from his own injury woes with a new trick shot that he flung from the empty stands at Chase Center during pregame warm-ups and that may have topped every past trick shot in a career full of them. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving had majestic moments together in their long-delayed debut as Nets teammates. Talen Horton-Tucker, who turned 20 on Nov. 25, looked as dangerous as Los Angeles Lakers insiders have whispered for months he would be when he got a chance to play real minutes. Zion Williamson, too, was back to his wrecking-ball best Monday night in the New Orleans Pelicans’ exhibition opener.Thursday’s Minnesota at Dallas preseason game is the first I will have the chance to attend in person. Members of the news media are not allowed to get anywhere near the floor or the two teams, as we used to, but I don’t think I will be able to stay home after getting Fournier’s description of the State Farm Arena scene for the Magic’s 116-112 victory over the Hawks in the teams’ Friday exhibition.“It was really fun, actually,” Fournier said. “I didn’t really pay attention to the empty seats. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe it’s just because I was so happy to be out there.”Where I live, in the same city as one of the game’s loudest optimists, talk about the coming season tends to be even more bullish, in contrast to my typical fear-the-worst anxiety, which I am once again struggling to stifle. Mark Cuban, the Dallas Mavericks’ owner, is a self-professed vaccines “geek” who has been reading everything he can as a mass vaccination campaign begins to roll out nationwide. Last week on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Cuban said it was “my personal belief” that there would be a “huge snap back” in March or April “where most of the people in the country will have had access” to coronavirus vaccination “if they wanted it.”Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, has predicted that most people will be able to get the vaccine by late spring or early summer, and that those with no underlying conditions could be vaccinated by the end of March or beginning of April. Seemingly taking his cue from such projections, Cuban told SiriusXM that he thinks “things are going to get really fun” in N.B.A. arenas in the second half of the season, provided that the league’s rush to start before Christmas to satisfy its television partners proceeds into the spring with no serious setbacks.When I reached Cuban on Tuesday, he insisted that the Mavericks’ mantra is “safety first, safety second and safety third.” He also confirmed that he would be at American Airlines Center on Thursday night, which will be Cuban’s first opportunity to watch his team in person since the viral clip of his stunned in-game reaction to news of the season’s suspension on March 11.“So far, so good,” Cuban said. “The most important aspect is that the players and staff that are traveling are treating each game as a self-imposed bubble. We won’t be able to eliminate cases and outbreaks, but if we can minimize them, then hopefully it can be as close to a normal season as possible.”UpdatedDec. 23, 2020, 8:46 p.m. ETThe Scoop @TheSteinLineYou ask; I answer. Every week in this space, I’ll field three questions posed via email at [email protected]. Please include your first and last name, as well as the city you’re writing in from, and make sure “Corner Three” is in the subject line.(Questions may be lightly edited or condensed for clarity.)Q: Congratulations on 35 years in the business, and I wish you many more. My question is basically which parts stand out most to you in the evolution of N.B.A. basketball into a global, 24/7 machine? I remember being at university in the 1990s, watching the game of the week with the lads and using newspaper box scores for our little fantasy league with made-up rules. How things have changed. — Heath Melrose (Brindisi, Italy)Stein: N.B.A. players are among the most recognized (and closely followed) athletes in the world. It hasn’t always been this way. I know I’ve said it before, but the ever-growing interest in those individual personalities and a perpetually insatiable appetite for N.B.A. transactions are the standout changes for me.Apologies if I have shared this remembrance in the newsletter and just forgot, but the signal to me that the N.B.A. had truly entered a new era was a seemingly minor trade in January 2007 that sent Earl Boykins from the Denver Nuggets to the Milwaukee Bucks.Chris Ramsay, one of my ESPN.com editors at the time and the son of the legendary former Buffalo Braves and Portland Trail Blazers coach Jack Ramsay, told me that my story on the trade generated several hundred thousand page views. The trade deadline was more than a month away, but the appetite for a transaction headlined by a reserve guard was an early hint of how the landscape was changing.As for your mention of fantasy basketball, I make similar comments to my 14-year-old son, Aaron, every weekend while watching him breezily manage his first fantasy football team with all these new-age phone apps that do all the math for you. Not sure I would have made it through high school if I’d had a phone with push notifications to distract me.Q: Oscar Robertson will always be in my top six. — Ken Paul (New York Times senior staff editor)Stein: Ken got a good chuckle out of me with this response to a section of my recent piece on Diego Maradona that mentioned the contentious greatest-of-all-time debates in soccer and basketball.I listed Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Magic Johnson and Wilt Chamberlain as the N.B.A.’s top six contenders for G.O.A.T. status — while acknowledging that there may not be a consensus on those finalists.Ken’s note promptly validated the suspicion that my top six might not be your top six. So did the email protest I received from one of our newsletter regulars, David Machlowitz of Westfield, N.J., asking why I included Magic but not Larry Bird.Just imagine what will happen if James wins his fifth ring this season by leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a second consecutive championship. That would give us some real G.O.A.T. tension at the front of the N.B.A. line as well as the back.Q: There has been talk of expanding rosters to deal with the Covid-19 situation. The N.B.A. will probably be affected even more by the coronavirus than the N.F.L. because there are so many more games per week, so wouldn’t everyone benefit if rosters were bigger? — Heber Costa e Silva (Brazil)Stein: There was some behind-the-scenes support in November for N.B.A. teams to be allowed to sign four players to two-way contracts this season rather than two, which would have essentially enabled teams to carry 19 players instead of 17.That push was ultimately rejected, but the league did eradicate the old 45-day N.B.A. limit for players on two-way deals. Players holding two-way contracts can be active for 50 of a team’s 72 games this season and will each earn a uniform $449,155. The league is also expected to formally announce later this week that teams will be allowed to dress 15 players per game this season, up from the usual 13.Two-way players are thus widely expected to stay predominantly with their N.B.A. teams in 2020-21 — which, of course, is one of the daunting variables that G League officials have to factor in as they continue to discuss the best format for their season.Numbers Game3Holdouts are rare in the modern N.B.A., but the Houston Rockets’ duo of James Harden (two) and P.J. Tucker (one) missed three days of training camp combined to convey varying levels of dissatisfaction with the team. Harden wants to be traded; Tucker wants a contract extension.5Five of the last eight offer sheets to restricted free agents have gone unmatched by the incumbent team. This includes the Knicks’ four-year, $71 million offer sheet to then-Atlanta Hawks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. in July 2017 and, more recently, Atlanta’s four-year, $72 million offer sheet to Bogdan Bogdanovic that the Sacramento Kings declined to match.4Although Milwaukee’s acquisition of Jrue Holiday is widely regarded as a clear upgrade to the Bucks’ backcourt because of his two-way prowess, Holiday’s résumé includes only limited playoff experience. He has reached the postseason four times in 11 N.B.A. seasons and advanced to the second round just once each with Philadelphia and New Orleans.15-and-5Fred VanVleet averaged 17.6 points and 6.6 assists per game last season and just received a four-year, $85 million contract from the Raptors. The last undrafted player to average at least 15 points and 5 assists for an entire season, according to Basketball Reference, was also a Raptor: Toronto’s Mike James averaged 20.3 points and 5.8 assists in 2005-06.3The Washington Wizards now have Twitter accounts in three different languages after adding a Hebrew feed to publicize the exploits of their Israeli first-round draft pick, Deni Avdija. In addition to its main English feed, Washington launched a Twitter account in Japanese last season for the first-rounder Rui Hachimura.Hit me up anytime on Twitter (@TheSteinLine) or Facebook (@MarcSteinNBA) or Instagram (@thesteinline). Send any other feedback to [email protected].

Gov. John Bel Edwards will hold a COVID-19 Press Conference on Tuesday (1/12) at 3:30 PM

Where Louisiana Currently Stands - The current Modified Phase 2 Order expires on the 13th. - Louisiana has been in a modified version of Phase Two since Nov. 25, 2020. - JBE is meeting with his team tonight to decide if he will enact more restrictions as the COVID-19 surge continues across the state. - Also expected to discuss the state’s continued distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday afternoon. * LDH officials announced Monday healthcare providers in all of the state’s 64 parishes would receive “very limited doses” of the vaccine this week. - More positive case results were collected on January 4th than any other day of the pandemic. * 5,489 cases, by date of the collection, have been reported for that date so far. - Highest cumulative 7-day percent positive since the state was still under Stay At Home Orders * As reported for December 24-30, the latest week of data by collection released by the LDH. * 13.7% was reported for December 24-30 this is the highest it has been since the state was under Stay at Home Orders on April 16-22 when the cumulative 7-day percent positive 15.4%. * The state entered Phase 1 on May 15th when the cumulative 7-day percent positive was 7.6%. - The largest amount of hospitalized COVID-19+ patients since the stay at home order was reported last week. - Currently, bars are not open to interior service in any parish.
Prior Phase 1 Restrictions

Roughly 1.9k watching on face book and over 900 on LPB Youtube.
Social distancing of 6 ft.
Non-essential businesses allowed to be open as long as they had socially distancing and limited occupancy to 25%.
Businesses that were closed:
- Massage establishments and spas.
- Tattoo parlors.
- Amusement parks.
- Arcades.
- Adult entertainment venues.
- Bars and breweries without a food permit.

LINKS TO WATCH

Summary

Gov. John Bel Edwards (JBE)

State remains in modified Phase 2 will expire on February 10th.
- MOD SCREAMS!
Strong appeal to the private sector to maximize the amount of employees who can work remotely.
Cases and hospitalizations are increasing in every region. Test positivity is also increasing, and we are above 10% we are at 13.7% percent from the most recent week we have information.
Louisiana is ranked #21 in the country for average daily cases.
Today's COVID data:
- 4,673 new cases off of 56,902 tests.
- Sadly reporting 53 new deaths for a total of 7,971.
- Hospitalized COVID 19 patients increased by 53 since yesterday for a total of 2,035 and 244 on mechanical ventilation.
- Numbers you are seeing are a direct reflection of Christmas holiday activities
  - Mitigation measures only work if people follow them.
Informal social gatherings, and those types of things we associate with holidays, are the largest culprit right now.
- Still happening in various business and other settings but the real growth we've seen lately are from informal social gatherings (parties, dinner, visits, interior gift exchanges) when people were inside without masks on in close proximity with people who are not in your own household.
- People thought it was safe if people tested negative on their way in, but it's not safe for the variety of reasons we've discussed.
Mitigation measures will work to reduce cases, positivity, and hospitalizations only if people adhere to them.
- Encourage people to follow them.
- Not in a good place.
Every region of the state has a positivity that exceeds 10%, increasing cases, and increasing hospitalizations.
Just a few days ago Louisiana reported 105 deaths in a single day. The highest single-day report.
- If every invidious who fills a seat in the chamber died that was what it was like that day.
- How many of those 105 would be with us if they turned down their Christmas invitation or better yet if that party didn't happen or they didn't visit with grandchildren. If they would have found another way to communicate.
Best most sincere way to express our love for one another is to not engage in activities that expose others or oneself to the virus.
Light at the end of the tunnel but we are in a very dark place.
- Vaccine is the light. It is safe and effective with very few significantly impacted individuals from side effects of the vaccine.
- Approximately 95% effective in terms of vaccinated people not getting COVID and 100% to prevent serious cases of COVID (Moderna and Pfizer vaccines).
  - These type rates are not typically seen in other vaccines.
- Please get the vaccine when it is your time to do so.
We live in a time when technology and social media are seeing the ills but there are also some great aspects that allow but to be close without being physically close. It allows us to work without having to go to the office and be in close proximity to others. Let's all try for the next month or so to really maximize the degree to which we all take advantage of things like Zoom and FaceTime and other technologies that are out there.
No one should gather with people outside of their immediate household unless it's necessary.
Outside is always better than inside.
Just because a venue is open doesn't mean you should go.
- If you want to patronize your favorite restaurant do so but try to bring it home or have it delivered.
People who are 65 and older and those with underlying conditions that make them more vulnerable to this disease should not be spending much time outside of their own aside from doing essential things like work, picking up food, or seeking medical care.
- Try to have your groceries delivered.
- Same individuals should not go into an indoor space if anyone is not wearing a mask.
  - From the White House Coronavirus Task Force.
We were doing a better job following mitigation measures earlier on in the pandemic.
Most people can say they know someone with or who has had COVID-19.
Follow mitigation measures and do what we know works.
- Wear a mask.
- Socially distance from those outside of your home.
- Wash your hands often.
- Stay home when sick.
White House Coronavirus Task Force stressed on today's phonecall that too many people are losing sight of the mitigation measures they have to do each day. Despite everyone's best efforts, we will not all be vaccinated tomorrow it will take some time. In the meantime, this disease is being contracted by more and more people and more people are getting hospitalized and dying.
HHS is expanding guidance for priority groupings.
- Louisiana is looking at this and it will be some time before Louisiana announces any change to its priority groups.
- Already focused on who is at greatest risk in Lousiana.
- Already have enough people who have an interest in the vaccine but not enough to disperse.
Under the current plan administered at least 150,690 shots of vaccines. 21,652 have completed their 2nd dose and are completed vaccinated now.
- Minimum number, there is a lag time from administration of shots and when it's loaded into the system.
- Every parish in the state is now administering vaccines.
- Doubled amount of sites people can access for their vaccines.
- Safe and effective of no cost to the patient.
- 210 administration sites across the state not counting hospitals.
- We cannot guarantee that all of those sites will be furnished vaccine next week. Information is coming tonight.
- Can ensure every one of these sites will get a second shot for everybody in time.
If you are looking for a vaccine and are in an accepted priority group these 210 sites are taking appointments subject to limitations on the number of vaccines they have.
- You can make an appointment even if you're not an established patient of that facility.
Will have around 1,800 providers approved soon.
New partnership with Xavier University and Tulane so those health school individuals will receive their vaccine.

Dr. Joseph Kanter, LDH

It has never been as bad as it is right now. There has never been more COVID in Louisiana than it is now. There has never been more community spread than there is now and that is across all 9 regions of the state and all 64 parishes
- According to the CDC all parishes are in the highest risk category.
- Entire state is above 10% positivity.
- All hospitalizations are above previous spikes.
- Numbers do not suggest we are peaking and going down.
- Holiday transmissions and over New Years' and subsequent transmissions from that have not come yet.
  - Next few weeks will be VERY challenging.
Anecdotally as an ER doctor, talking to colleagues of mine, more people have been exposed at informal gatherings like the ones the Governor described.
- When a family does not internalize the risk of this virus until a loved one in a bed.
- These experiences are occurring at increasing frequency.
We anticipate things will get worse
- No family wants to come to the realization of how serious this virus is until it's too late.
New virus deaths counts are upwards of 40 60 or like last week 105, these are unacceptable.
Die has been cast from what happened over the holidays but we can stop the second and third-degree transmissions.
Folks need to think now about how they will enjoy the playoffs and Carnival seasons safely.
Vaccine information.
- Administration rate is at 2,788 per 100,000 residents.
  - Louisiana is at 22nd in terms of state.
  - Doing a good job getting vaccine out and to providers under not easy circumstances (we do not get a lot of advanced notice of when the vaccine will be allotted to us).
    - Ask providers with short notice to set up appointments and use those vaccines before they expire.
Thanks people for calling in and not going in person without an appointment to get a vaccine.
- Will not get the vaccine if you just walk up to a store.
Last week we sent 10,700 to 107 providers this week we are sending 35,785 doses to 210 providers of which 103 are new from the week prior.
Able to do a larger dispersant this week because we were planning to move out the remaining stock from the supplier that will not be available to us next week.
- If allocation from the Federal Government home not all of the 210 community providers will receive vaccine next week.
Long Term Care Facility partnership program with Walgreens (6,144 doses) and CVS (6,414 doses) in nursing homes.
We had a little bit more vaccine loss to report.
- Up to 228 doses lost to date.
- Taken steps to address loss we had last week to ensure with energy companies to prioritize places that are storing the vaccine.
First serious adverse reaction. Individual spent 1-2 nights in the hospital and recovered. Individual took vaccine later that night had stomach upset, felt dizzy, and now feels fine. This has been reported to the CDC.
Federal Government will release 2nd dose they have been securing to the states.
- Presents interesting information people may think we are getting double the doses but that's not true.
- People still need the second dose, no idea about the efficacy if the second dose doesn't happen.
- Until the Federal government can give us a more predictable cadence of vaccine relievers (few weeks out) we have to be thoughtful about those second doses and make sure they available when patients are set to receive their second doses.
This week we will be provided 28,275 Pfizer doses and 27,500 of which 18,700 gets diverted off to the longer-term care and 8,800 to the state.
- Expected to know next week's allotment by now but haven't been told.
- This is not a lot of vaccines.
We have a lot more people eager to get the vaccine and a lot more providers eager to give the vaccine than we have available to us from the Feds.
Gearing up to large scale vaccine events.
- 1,500 providers and more signing up.
- Xavier and Tulane are available as vaccine providers as well.
- A lot of legwork is happening to prepare for large scale mass vaccination events.
  - Hindered by the amount of vaccine we have available.
Reminder this is the most dangerous time in Louisiana. We've gone up from last week, the risk of community transmission is higher now than it ever has been. Folks really need to take that to heart. It is dangerous right now. People need to be as careful as possible.

Questions
Only 44% of our vaccines have actually made into the arms
There is some nuance in there. Grand total we have had over 320,000 doses allocated to Louisiana of which 93,600 have been diverted off to the long-term care partnerships. We don't really see those until they have been administered. 228,200 doses under our direction of those 138,046 so a decent number over half have been administered so far as evident in our tracking system. A limiting factor is that people are administering these vaccines, recording it on paper, and inputting them into the computer at a later date. So we do not have an accurate number to say these many shots have been given today until those entries are transmitted over so it does lag a little bit. We've made some changes last week to make changes go through as soon s possible and enabled hospitals to disperse vaccines when they are available to all qualifying individuals, and also move vaccine out of the storage facilities at MorrisonDixon. Over 13,000 doses of Moderna and 3,000-4,000 Pfizer are being moved out this will zero out our storage at MorrisonDixon. The biggest thing is if providers could enter their administrations faster in LINKS.
Some providers have caught up with their entries and hospitals have opened up to a larger circle of available people for vaccination.
One of the changes the Fed announced is to allocate doses based on how well we are doing in using our vaccines. Are you offering incentives? How will you incentivize people to upload this data to LINkS in a more timely manner? You're basically saying even though the Feds are relating all of the doses you will hold back half of the doses until we have a better idea on the timeline of allocation?
To the second point we need to do some more strategic planning it may not be exactly half the dosage but some percentage on how much we expect. That percentage gets less and less the more Operation Warspeed can tell us advanced information 3-4 weeks out. The more they can guarantee a minimum dosage the more comfortable we would feel expanding how many doses we give out. No one should be without their second dose being available to them when their time comes up.
There will be a new administration in a couple of weeks and we need to see how this will change. Our main incentive to providers is we are communicating very clearly we will not resupply anyone who has remaining stock. The way we know that is by the LINKS system. The faster a provider can enter into LINKS will allow them to receive a new supply when it becomes available.
Any consideration of a mass vaccination site at a stadium like other states?
There has been a lot of planning but we are limited by how many vaccines we have. It's a zero-sum situation. In order to supply a few communities for large scale vaccination events would not be able to supply pharmacy and clinics. We are happy to be able to supply vaccines to pharmacies and clinics in all parishes in what we hope to be a decent cadence. That wouldn't be an option if we diverted those vaccines to large scale locations. That's the challenge and states are making individual decisions on that. The decision we have made so far is to make sure people across the state have access to the vaccine.
For the next couple of weeks as supplies last, because we moved out that supply at Morrison Dixon we had a larger supply this week to push out, we will not have that much next week. Not every one of the 210 providers who received this week will receive it next week.
Why does the CDC have a different amount of vaccine numbers allocated to Louisiana than what you're providing. Why is there this discrepancy in numbers?
The discrepancy happens because of the Angel doses (Pfizer vials sometimes have 6 maybe even 7 doses instead of 5 also dependent on the gage of the syringe and the way in which it is drawn) this was not planned for the front end and not every provider can get out the extra doses. So if the extra dose is there they enter it's not the inventory. This causes the CDC to have a larger amount listed than Operation Warpseed actually allocated to us.
Numbers typically reported on the weekly allocations are based on what Project Warspeed allocates to us and not the extra amount of doses providers enter.
Question about fatigue
It has been a hard 10 months its been a heck of a year and I think we were all excited about the new year. We all have a lot of fatigue and we are ready for it to be done but it is not done with us. I think that's the essence of the challenge. Where we need to be thoughtful and our communication challenge to remind folks of the danger without being repetitive and easily ignored. That is a challenge because it has been going on for so long. The more we talk about and share stories about families who are affected by the virus the better. Fatigue is real. It is very understandable but we still have a ways to go and are more in the thick of it now than ever before.
We will not get to the point of the vaccine where it makes a public health impact until months down the road. Nursing home residents who get vaccinated make a huge impact on themselves and their family's lives but it will not have an impact on public health for months.
Question about bitter taste test tool to see who is vulnerable to the severe COVID cases. If they are genetically predisposed to COVID or not COVID. Any intention of using this
The challenge is to take this information on something that is actionable. We have a pretty good idea of who will get sick and systems to get monoclonal antibodies to those people. There is definitely room for improvement but I think that will happen in time. Even if we are able to say on average these individuals do poorly it is not exclusive. Every day we hear examples of people who do not fit that category who have bad outcomes, and that is humbling.
Gov. JBE

A week from tomorrow there will be a new administration and we will hear from the new administration to see if they will maintain the new changes that were announced today regarding if the Fed Government will not withhold the second doses. If these allocation changes will be implemented or whether they will move away from those things and implement different changes.
- Why was announced today was very different from what we were told to expect. Based on what we were told to expect is why we made the changes we have.
If you hear another state is doing a mass vaccination site there are more people being vaccinated in those places than here. Do you have several large events where people have to travel to get vaccinated or do you push it out like we did where there are 210 sites pushing it out? If you want equity you do the 210 sites and at the end of the day, you vaccinate as many people as you could have done at mass events. We look forward to having mass events in addition to what we have now when vaccine allocation supports that. We are rehearsing and preparing for that and hope that day comes sooner rather than later.
Many people are working very hard to ensure shots are getting into arms and making sure the data gets put into LINKS.
- Especially if Operation Warspeed integrates this into how they determine how vaccines are allocated.
Announced change last week to make sure vaccines do not sit on the shelf any longer than necessary.
- This is how we took our vaccines in our stores and what we had available to make sure these sites had vaccines.
- Have to be prepared for the second dose. Do not believe we have to hold back every dose for that but will figure out the optimal amount we need to.
Security concerns about state capitals for the upcoming time period starting this weekend and going through the Inauguration at least.
- We are aware and monitoring the situation.
- Heartened by the fact we've had demonstrations and protests for many weeks now.
  - All have been entirely peaceful with no lawlessness and no violence.
  - Expect that will continue.
- First Amendment is important and people have their right to assemble in a peaceful manner in accordance with the law.
- No doubt that last week's event at the Capitol was a super spreader event.
  - Be mindful of that and wear a mask if you demonstrate or protest.
Governor makes comments on the insurgence at the Capitol.
As you've heard me say many times let's all be good neighbors to one another. That's true to COVID and also being a good American. Let's been good Americans as well.

Questions

Do you have any insight on how the state considers moving to the next priority Tier while keeping demand for the currently authorized tiers? How do you go about making that decision
What we know is that the demand for those in the current priority groups exceeds the supply to move to the next one. We are figuring a trigger, possibly 80%, meaning that 20% of the appointments are not getting filled we will move to the next order of priority. We're looking at all of that now. We do not have to make the decision just yet because we are not there. We will have very large populations in these orders of priority and it will take quite some time to get the vaccine to them. It will not work in the way some have envisioned it that Everyone in Phase 1A get vaccinated before moving to Phase 1B. Think of it like how you board a plane. People in Group A get called to board before Group B, but when Group B is boarding people from Group A can board as well.
Is there anything the LDH is looking for, whether the percentage of population vaccinated or other, to move out of Phase 2 into another Phase?
We look at the gating criteria. We do not do that just as the current proclamation is about to end, we do it throughout the time period. We will do it again and look at the information especially the percent positivity, case growth, hospitalization, those are the things we continue to look at. The more people who get vaccinated, especially the more vulnerable, you can expect fewer people going in the hospitalization dying but we are quite aways from that right now. The quicker we can get vaccinations administered to those groups based on age or high-risk things that make them vulnerable the quicker impact we will have from the vaccination program. Until that is up to the rest of us to use the masks and mitigation measures to keep numbers low.
You've already announced the next group Phase 1B Tier 2, do you see the possibility of changing that list of who is included in that list now that CDC has issued guidance. Is there a possibility to tweak those who are currently eligible?
Everything you just mentioned is possible because we haven't decided what we will do based on these new recommendations. This is me thinking out loud and Dr Kanter saying "please don't do that" it would be more likely that we would adjust what is in Phase 1B Tier 2 than change the groups who are already able to receive the vaccine and we haven't come close to the supply necessary to get them all vaccinated. When we move to the next group that next group may look different (larger) based on the recommendations we got today. We based our plan on the CDC and ACIP guidance we got weeks ago and today's change was a major change to that plan. I don't believe ACIP every contemplated below 75 (we went to 70) would be prioritized over certain occupations. We need to look at that in Louisiana it will be less of an impact because we already went down to 70 but there is a lot of work to be done. Interested to see what the new administration will do in respect to these new recommendations.
Probelm with nursing home staff agreeing to have the vaccine
Obviously, vaccine hesitancy remains more than we would like it to be but is less pronounced Thant it was one month ago and certainly more than two months ago. Hesitancy is diminishing over time as you see people in your family or colleagues get vaccinated without severe reactions and they seem well then you're interested in getting it. That is happening across the state today. There are still more people than I would like to see that are declining to be vaccinated when it available to them. Hopefully, they will come to believe it safe and effective, it is and it is the only way to get this pandemic behind us. Also more pronounced in certain demographics. We need to make sure folks are promoting the safety and efficacy of the vaccine who look like the people who will be taking it. I will never tell that communication is as good as it should be but at the end of the day I believe we will have enough people vaccinated to put the pandemic behind it.
Is it safe to say that Mardi Gras should not occur in any way shape or form
I know Mayor Cantrell of New Orleans made an announcement long ago that there will not be the large-scale events associated with Mardi Gras but that is just for that parish. I will tell you that anyone who thinks that Mardi Gras should resemble what we typically do is making a terrible mistake. Much like how individuals gathered and traveled for the holidays. With the degree of community spread we have and the amount of people we have in the hospital, the idea that we would have large-scale celebrations like a parade, Mardi Gras Ball, etc. is absolutely irresponsible. It is not consistent with the current mitigation measures and the restrictions we have in place here. I know it is not in New Orleans as well. I know there are some folks who are spending a lot of time to come up with easy to persevere our unique traditions but do it safely. I believe they are looking at a lot of virtual events so we do not go without Mardi Gras this way. There are certain things we can do to perceive as much of the Mardi Gras tradition as we can have a normal celebration like next year.
How much is the new variant a factor
I do not know we have confirmed the new variant through sequencing the virus. I will tell you we should all assume it is here. I can tell you it certainly appears to me the virus is transmitting more easily and quickly than previously. It could be a function of how much more there is in the community or we have a new variant that is more easily transmitted. It doesn't change what we should be doing right now, the mitigation measures like wearing a mask, washing your hands, physically distancing from those outside your house, and staying home when sick. Those are things we have to do regardless if we have it or not. Viruses mutate over time and quite often to make it more transmissible if that's detected elsewhere we should assume it's here. In the USA we are not taking enough samples of the virus to do genetic sequencing like other countries are able to have a handle on a new variant. We should assume it. I received a communication that floated the possibility that there could be US strain (Dr. Birx) had a working theory there could be. We should expect a variant of more transmissibility is present.
What kind of testing shows the variant
The CDC is testing twice as many samples as they were several weeks ago to see if a new variant is at play. We are asking Tulane to do more genetic sequencing so we have an entity in the state to do sequencing. Of the samples they sequenced we do not have the new variant in Louisiana doesn't mean it's not present just that we haven't scientifically tested it to be present.
Do you know the prioritization for money for vaccination
274 million coming for testing and around 42 million for vaccination. I was struck by how much additional money we got for testing as opposed to vaccination. Exact numbers will be provided later. All of which is very important and we believe additional packages will be coming from Congress with the new administration.
Where does the vaccine money go?
There are costs associated with everything we are doing with respect to the vaccine. I can get you a better handle on where we anticipate those dollars flowing. I don't think the money is even here yet. A lot of the many will go to reimburse things we have already spend money on. We've been paying for this for a while. One we get more allocation costs to increase as well especially with mass vaccination sites. I can tell you that one of the things we are concerned about is if the Federal Government stops holding the second dose and we have to hold it then we will have to pay for that to happen and for that to then be distributed in order to the various sites so it can be administered. So if Operation Warpeseed held it themselves they would pay for the cost of sending it to the provider. SO the change announced today will be more costly for the states.

Closing Remarks

Thank you for continuing to cover this. It is hard to deliver two messages at the same time and have them both received the way you want them to. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, this vaccination effort is extremely important and will allow us to return to normalcy hopefully by 2021. However, the next couple of weeks (4-6 weeks) will be the worst we have experienced as a country and quite frankly there is not a lot we can do to make those weeks better. If we want to limit it to 4-6 weeks and then see a leveling off and get better then there are things we all have to do starting today. (Wear a mask, wash your hands for 20 seconds, physically distance from those in your house, stay home when sick.) Either we will do it or not and if we don't do it, needlessly people will be hospitalized and die. If we do not do these things it will tax our healthcare delivery system, it will continue to have people be in poorer health than they would be (not just for COVID but anything that requires the hospital). Get your vaccine when you are able.
The next several weeks will not be pretty and they will be the hardest weeks we will have since the pandemic hit. We have it in our control to make sure it is just a few weeks and we get better after that.
- Have confidence the people will do that.
Next conference is next week.

Per member requests, I set up an Amazon Wishlist and Ko-Fi.

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COVID, Rapid Test, and Antibody Testing FAQs. State and local healthcare departments and healthcare providers are making the decisions about COVID-19 and antibody testing availability and practices. Prior to booking a COVID test on Solv or visiting a New Orleans COVID testing site, contact the provider for the latest local information on testing. CORE is providing free covid-19 testing to targeted high-risk populations in new orleans, as well as the general community. We offer a pain-free self-administered oral swab test, with results delivered in 3-5 days. Always free, no legal documentation required & accessible to all. Dozens of coronavirus testing locations are available across metro New Orleans. As of July 4, more than 60,000 Louisiana residents have tested positive for the virus, and more than 3,000 have died ... The new year is here, and so are plenty of new coronavirus testing sites across the New Orleans area as cases surge around Louisiana. Starting next week, a handful of free COVID-19 testing sites ... Free mobile testing for COVID-19 will continue next week in New Orleans. The New Orleans Health Department, LCMC Health and LSU Health Sciences will offer testing at walk-up sites in New Orleans ... Coronavirus (COVID-19) Testing Testing is available at many healthcare facilities, hospitals, and clinics in New Orleans. Each facility has its own criteria for who is eligible for a test, so we suggest you call first. If you have questions about COVID-19 and don't have a PCP. Call the Nurse's Hotline at: (504) 962-6202 for LCMC CVS Health is offering rapid COVID testing (Coronavirus) at 4401 South Claiborne New Orleans, LA 70125, to eligible individuals in select states, ages 10 and older. Schedule your test appointment online. COVID-19 TEST SITES. The following Ochsner Urgent Care Centers are now designated for COVID-19 assessment and testing, if recommended by the Louisiana Department of Health and the patient’s provider. ... 4100 Canal St, New Orleans. New Orleans, LA 70119. URGENT CARE LOCATIONS. Therefore, if you need results immediately, a rapid test may be the best option for you. If you can wait several days for results, you should get a PCR test. New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell These locations offer rapid COVID testing in New Orleans . If you need to return to work quickly, a rapid test may be a good option for you. Where to get a COVID-19 test in New York City, New York and Newark, New Jersey. If you need a COVID-19 test and don’t have an appointment, the process of getting tested at an urgent care center (or similar) may take a while — especially once you get outside the city. Even in the city, increased demand is causing longer wait times.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Testing - NOLA Ready

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Gov. Edwards will provide an update on Louisiana's Response to COVID-19 at 3 p.m.

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Gov. John Bel Edwards will hold a COVID-19 Press Conference on Tuesday (1/12) at 3:30 PM

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