COVID Transmissions for 11-30-2020
Welcome back
Good morning! It has been 379 days since the first documented human case of COVID-19.
Welcome back from Thanksgiving, everyone who celebrates. I hope you had a restful and restorative holiday in safe isolation.
Today is my mother’s birthday, so happy birthday, Mom.
Just headlines for today.
As usual, bolded terms are linked to the running newsletter glossary.
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Now, let’s talk COVID.
AstraZeneca vaccine dosing was an error
Last week, I told you about the results of the AstraZeneca vaccine trial. I noted that in that trial, the dosing schedule that worked best was one where a half-dose “prime” was given followed by a full-dose “boost.”
As it turns out, the inclusion of this dosing schedule in the trial happened entirely by accident: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/25/business/coronavirus-vaccine-astrazeneca-oxford.html
This is a lucky mistake but I am more or less livid that it happened at all; it concerns me that there are other irregularities in this trial’s process. What if the mistake had gone in the other direction, with a doubled dose given? What if the vaccine had had serious safety issues, and a doubled dose was given?
Thankfully this didn’t happen, but clinical trials should be conducted so rigorously that these kinds of things can’t happen.
I think what this is going to mean is that the AstraZeneca vaccine will see added regulatory scrutiny in the US and perhaps in other countries. I don’t expect it to get to market as quickly as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, but I do ultimately think it will be approved still.
NYC Schools are reopening for younger students on December 7th
In an interesting move, NYC (where I live) has decided to reopen public schools for students up to 5th grade on December 7th.
I highlight this hyperlocal story because it lines up well with what my understanding of observational data tell me: that schools for younger children are not major sources of outbreaks.
Here’s the announcement:
What am I doing to cope with the pandemic? This:
Peking-style duck: accomplished
Peking duck is rather challenging to make, as I mentioned in the last edition of this newsletter. This is why I’m calling the duck that I made “Peking-style,” because I really don’t feel I have the training or experience to claim I’ve created something close to the original.
Anyway, here’s how it went.
Peking duck needs to have its skin separated from the animal, which is traditionally accomplished by inflating the skin like a balloon, using bamboo straws. I used a boba straw for this part. By separating the skin, you facilitate the fat rendering out and also the skin crisping.
You also need to dry the skin out as much as possible. This is accomplished by letting it sit uncovered in the fridge for a day. During this time, it is rubbed occasionally with a mixture of soy sauce and sugar (specifically maltose syrup, but I used maple syrup). It can also be salted to remove additional moisture.
After that, it is dipped in (or in my case, splashed with) boiling water, which tightens the skin back on to it. It’s kind of cool to watch.
Then, it is roasted upright. I used an empty beer can as a stand, which worked really well. It’s roasted until it reaches a lovely golden-brown and all the fat has rendered off. This is what I was able to manage:
This is a lot closer to what Peking duck ought to look like than past attempts I’ve made. I also made accompanying pancakes to wrap the carved duck in, along with some cucumber sticks, scallions, and plum sauce. It was a nice Thanksgiving meal, though to get it really authentic, I’ll need to keep working on technique.
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No corrections since yesterday’s issue.
See you all next time.
Always,
JS