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Good morning, Portland! Here’s today’s installment of “Holiday Music That Doesn’t Suck”:
And here are the headlines.
• Yesterday, Oregonians watched some of the state’s first COVID-19 vaccinations, administered at three different hospitals, the same way most everything is experienced in 2020: through a grainy, audio-challenged Zoom-based livestream.
• Also yesterday: The state reported 1,562 new COVID-19 cases, and 48 more deaths. Oregon is now just a few thousand new cases away from hitting the 100,000 case mark.
• Some true Hanukkah miracle stuff: Healthcare workers have discovered that some Pfizer vaccine vials, which are supposed to contain five doses each, actually have enough for six or even seven shots—and the FDA says it’s fine to use those extra doses. That little mix-up could equate to millions of extra doses to help vaccinate frontline healthcare workers across the country.
• We’ve got a new entrant intro the “world leaders with COVID-19” club:
BREAKING: France’s presidential palace says President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for COVID-19. https://t.co/GwZAAIT7n2
— The Associated Press (@AP) December 17, 2020
• Speaking of world leaders who got COVID-19: New emails uncovered from the Trump administration show that some of Donald Trump’s advisors wanted him to pursue a herd immunity strategy with the coronavirus, particularly when it comes to children. With over 300,000 Americans dead from the virus and over 17 million infected, that strategy seems to have happened by default.
• The number of people enrolling in college for the first time dropped sharply this year—by about 20 percent in the US. “I know what works best for me, and doing stuff on the computer doesn’t really stimulate me in the same way an actual class would,” one high school senior told NPR. “We had no money for it, and I’m not trying to go into debt and pay that for the rest of my life.”
• In the UK, a coroner has ruled that a 9-year-old girl’s death was caused by air pollution. That’s significant: The girl, Ella Kissi-Debrah of London, is believed to be the first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as the cause of death on her death certificate. “The principal source of her exposure was traffic emissions,” the coroner said, adding that Britain had failed to properly regulate those emissions.
• A federal judge ruled yesterday that imprisoned people can sue state officials for failing to take coronavirus-related health precautions at state prisons. Here in Oregon, prison guards have often failed to wear masks, and social distancing in prisons is almost nonexistent.
• Staffers at the Oregon State Legislature have filed to form a union. If they succeed, Oregon will have the first unionized legislative staff in the country. The move apparently wasn’t prompted by a specific issue, but rather by the sense that legislative aides don’t have a say in decisions that impact them.
• Tomorrow is the final day of Hanukkah—whether you’re celebrating, or are just always on the hunt for good takeout recommendations, be sure to check out our Quarantine Guide to Hanukkah Takeout!
