good news – beginning of the end
Although recent statistics may be grim the new year ushered in lots of good news on the Covid-19 front. As some of you may know Las Vegas hospitals are now vaccinating workers. There are now 3 approved vaccines being distributed and a 4th (Johnson & Johnson) will soon join this group. The Southern Nevada Health District has published a vaccination plan. The volume of available vaccine will be increasing dramatically over the next few months. Along with that there are significant advances in treatments including long overdue recognition of Ivermectin (an inexpensive repurposed drug which is a true silver bullet). Lots of good news to lift our spirits. What’s the impact on CasualChessClub? Of course the ultimate goal is resumption of brick & mortar meetings. This will depend on several things. First and foremost the governmental and corporate ok for Jersey Mike’s to reopen their restaurant’s dining area. Secondly for all of us to be safe enough to attend. This implies all of us having immunity so we don’t endanger anyone. Therein lies the rub – after vaccination (consisting of 2 shots) it takes about 4-6 weeks for full immunity to be established. In terms of a timeline this means if we all get vaccinated in April we should be safe by end of May or beginning of June. With a bit of luck this timeline could be moved up. Lets count our blessings and not let our guard down for the last few months of this ordeal. The finish line is within sight!
There are a couple of things that to my knowledge should be reviewed and or corrected:
1) Jersey Mikes at Rainbow and Oakey is not closed. They are open for business, however at the time of this writing, their dining area is unavailable for sit-down business. If you want to walk in a buy a sandwich to go, they are open for that transaction (https://www.jerseymikes.com/news/march-16th-covid-19-update).
2) The Pfizer vaccine and at least one other that I know about require two doses spaced apart by a number of days. Exactly how many days apart from the first inoculation to the second inoculation has not been finally settled by the FDA and the medical community. There are several new variants on COVID-19 (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/transmission/variant.html) and while it appears that at least two vaccines have the ability to prevent infection of the variants, more data is needed for confirmation of the results. Frankly, I think it’s too early to give a reasonable estimate to when we will be able to resume over-the-board play at Jersey Mikes.
Let’s hope for the best!
Since this is a chess context I’m sure most people understood I was referring to the dining area as opposed to the drive up. Also I’m sure by now people have heard that the Covid-19 vaccinations consist of 2 doses (although one is in the works that is single dose). I did use the word “about”, but have added “4-6 weeks” to make it less open ended. Lets not split hairs as the gist of my message is pretty clear. I monitor the most reputable and informative sources of Covid-19 news on a daily basis since my personal health situation gives me a strong incentive to do so. Readers can trust me to report accurate pertinent information without conjecture or hyperbole. I just want to give our chess players the assurance that this ordeal is coming to a close. We’ve made it this far, we just need to hang in there a bit longer.
Thanks for revising. I would not want readers to get the impression that Jersey Mikes was closed. Also, given the still high level of uncertainty with regards to the virus, its variants, the vaccines, and the entire process of who gets vaccinated when, I think it’s still to early to suggest May, June, or even a July return to over-the-board play at Jersey Mikes. There does appear to be “light at the end of the tunnel”, but the tunnel is still quite dark and long, especially with the infection rate still rising and medical resources severely challenged. I too am closely monitoring this situation with the virus. I look forward to playing you and others over-the-board when it becomes safe to do so.
Seniors 70+ can now get vaccinated!!
55+ with underlying conditions can get vaccinated as of 3/15!!
Everyone can get vaccinated now! Please get your jab so we can get back to chess!