Seeing those anti-vax posts is making me re-think again my thoughts on the COVID-19 vaccine πŸ’‰

Seeing those anti-vax posts is making me re-think again my thoughts on the COVID-19 vaccine πŸ’‰

The latest one making the rounds suggests that there is something unsafe about the vaccine because it was developed so quickly when the war on cancer, AIDS and the flu has been going along for decades without effective vaccines – ignoring the fact that most cancer isn’t a virus except for HPV which has an effective vaccine.

The technology powering the mRNA Coronavirus vaccine is pretty remarkable – it took only two days to develop the vaccine after they had the sequence of the virus. Covid-19 really pushed the technology into practical use for the first time. Expect more mRNA vaccines in the near future. mRNA vaccines may soon have answers to cancers, flu and severe colds – thanks to power gene sequencing and splicing technology.

The science is really neat – see the articles I shared yesterday. Are there unknowns and dangers out there? Yes, but Coronavirus is a clear and present threat now and the scientific evidence suggests the vaccines are safe and very effective. There is enough people and governments looking at the research to know you are getting a quality product. And with the news media and the anti-vaxers looking down the throats of the vaccine program, you know any minor glitch or problem with the vaccine will be widely reported and splashed all over social media. Chances are pretty good that taking the vaccine won’t kill you or make even very sick but the virus may very well do those things to you.

Now I don’t like the glitzy media roll out, the banner ads and signs on the buses that are certain to come to promote the vaccine in the coming weeks. I won’t be joining any long line in the dead of winter, stepping over snow banks and freezing my ass off to get vaccinated. I won’t be on social media bragging about how I was the first person on my block to get the shot, or how I’m out there supporting Joe Biden’s administration as a patriotic American getting vaccinated. But once it’s convenient and I’m fully educated on the initial vaccine roll out, good and bad, I’ll swing by the pharmacy and get jabbed.

I’d much prefer a single shot, painless vaccine quickly jabbed over the counter like my flu shot this year. But I guess two easy to get shots beats ending up in the hospital. Not because of some cheesy advertising campaign with singing cheer leaders on the color television or to support the Biden administration but because it’s a low cost (in time and money spent) way to prevent getting sick. I really don’t want to get COVID-19, it’s really bad news.

Median Property Tax By County

A major cost of living in New York State is taxes. We have very high property taxes, but then again does much of New England. The median property tax bill in Albany County, NY is $4,200, while the median property tax bill in the mountain country of Webster County, WV is $268. In much of the south, especially away from the oceans and metropolitan areas, property taxes are much lower then in our area. You can understand why many people, especially seniors to choose to move to lower tax states.

Data Source: MORTGAGE STATUS BY AGGREGATE REAL ESTATE TAXES PAID (DOLLARS). Universe: Owner-occupied housing units, 2011-2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_15_5YR_B25090&prodType=table

Deepest Snow Recorded in NY State as of December 6, 2020

There locations have the deepest snow in New York State, per National Weather Service.

1) Lewis County, West Turin town, Highmarket (HGHN6)
4 inches ❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️ 6am

2) Schuyler County, Hector town, Smith Valley 1.9 SE (NY-SY-1)
One inch ❄️ 7am

3) Schuyler County, Hector town, Mecklenburg 4 SW (MECN6)
One inch ❄️ 7am

4) Cayuga County, Ledyard town, Aurora Research Farm (AURN6)
One inch ❄️ 7am

5) Tompkins County, Dryden town, Ithaca 6.4 E (NY-TM-42)
0.5 inches ❄️❄️ 7am

6) Oneida County, Lee town, Point Rock 0.6 SE (NY-OD-2)
0.5 inches ❄️❄️ 7am

7) Madison County, Nelson town, Cazenovia 2.9 SE (NY-MD-10)
0.5 inches ❄️❄️ 7am

8) Franklin County, Brighton town, Gabriels 1.3 SE (NY-FK-9)
0.5 inches ❄️❄️ 7am

9) Essex County, Schroon town, Olmstedville 4.6 NNE (NY-ES-6)
0.5 inches ❄️❄️ 8am

10) Delaware County, Stamford town, Hobart 4.8 ESE (NY-DL-25)
0.5 inches ❄️❄️ 7am

11) Cortland County, Freetown town, Freetown 1.0 NE (NY-CR-1)
0.5 inches ❄️❄️ 7am

12) Delaware County, Walton town, Walton 2 (WALN6)
Dusting 🌨 5am

13) Madison County, Oneida city, Oneida 0.4 NW (NY-MD-22)
Dusting 🌨 7am

14) Chenango County, Norwich town, Norwich (NRWN6)
Dusting 🌨 6am

15) Warren County, Chester town, North Creek 5 SE (NCKN6)
Dusting 🌨 7am

16) Franklin County, Malone town, Malone (MALN6)
Dusting 🌨 7am

17) Lewis County, Lowville town, Lowville (LOWN6)
Dusting 🌨 7am

18) Steuben County, Corning town, Corning (CORN6)
Dusting 🌨 7am

19) Allegany County, Alfred town, Alfred (ALFN6)
Dusting 🌨 7am

20) Tioga County, Berkshire town, Berkshire 2.0 N (NY-TG-5)
Dusting 🌨 8am

21) Tioga County, Candor town, Candor 0.7 NW (NY-TG-26)
Dusting 🌨 8am

22) Schuyler County, Hector town, Dundee 6.2 E (NY-SY-11)
Dusting 🌨 7am

23) Delaware County, Franklin town, Delhi 6.6 Wnw (NY-DL-32)
Dusting 🌨 7am

24) Delaware County, Hancock town, Long Eddy 6.5 NNE (NY-DL-23)
Dusting 🌨 8am

25) Chenango County, Preston town, Norwich 5.4 W (NY-CN-9)
Dusting 🌨 7am

 Hells Gate at Schodack Landing