Coronavirus Family Vaccination

We have been vaccinated! Aside from sore arms and tiredness the 1st 2 days we had no side effects.

My wife received the J and J two days before the news broke about blood clots. That was over 3 weeks ago so she should be out of the danger zone. Also, the FDA has allowed the J and J shot to be used again.

I was vaccinated a week later during the J and J hiatus so I was left with the two-shot option. I received the Pfizer shot. I had no problem scheduling a shot 48 hours later through the city's Carbon Health site.

Last week, my sons booked their shots but they were cancelled. Not because of shortages, blood clots, or equity tiers but because of the Chauvin verdict.

Los Angeles city officials feared that its citizens would not be able to handle the jury's decision.

My sons received their shots a couple of days later - a couple of days after school reopening.

The vaccination program, early high infection rate in Los Angeles, and ongoing precautions seem to be putting the city in a great situation.

This week Los Angeles County made the numbers to move to the least-restrictive yellow tier for reopening meaning 1.9 new covid cases for every 100,000 residents. One more week of these low numbers and we will move from orange to yellow.

Yellow means that indoor fitness centers, bars, amusement parks, and stadiums would all be able to start operating or if operating already, increase their capacity percentages.

Being vaccinated means life is almost back to normal. A week ago, a coworker shook my hand. It was so odd, yet so normal. It felt really good. I did sanitize afterwards, but having that physical contact with someone who did not live in my immediate household over the last 14 months was liberating.

But we are not out of the woods yet. There is still negative news: deaths in India soaring, covid booster shots may be needed - for years, new variants keep appearing, so we still have to take precautions.

The entertainment industry just extended their covid safety measures that were set to expire today, April 30, to June 30. That means continued covid tests - I had seven in the last week alone.

As coronavirus' reign seems to be coming to a close, my blog posts will be weekly or every other week depending upon new coronavirus developments.

Take care and be safe.

Coronavirus - Mixed Messages

Coronavirus news has been all over the place from super positive to dire. Take a look at a few headlines I pulled today:

"California Oks indoor sports, concerts as COVID cases plunge" - AP News 4/2/21

"COVID: California reports most new cases in almost 4 weeks" - The Mercury News 4/3/21

"The final insult: Some dying of COVID while awaiting the vaccine" - AP News 4/3/21

The CDC said 30% of all Americans have been vaccinated so far. And my wife and friends (over 50) have secured appointments online for vaccinations at Cal State LA, CVS, and Walmart.

And then different states are doing their own thing. Half of the states are now vaccinating anyone over 16, the other half are only vaccinating people still people only over 50 unless you qualify for one of a dozen varying exceptions. Then there is this news:

"The CDC updated its guidance to say fully vaccinated people can travel within the U.S. without getting tested for the coronavirus or going into quarantine afterward." From

Yet as of today, states like Alaska and Hawaii are still requiring testing. Los Angeles "requires" any resident who travels more than 150 miles from LA and comes back to self-quarantine for 10-days. However, I don't know anyone in LA who is abiding by the quarantine.

Then there is the vaccination symptoms concern where like a box of chocolates you don't know what you are going to get. Most people I have spoken to have had side effects. Most with minor arm irritation but others have had slight fevers or belly aches to one person who said they were down and out with flu like symptoms for a week - but they were never sick enough to go to the hospital.

Overall, I feel that we are in a better place than a month ago. But it is a confusing time. The government has to balance positive news to keep hope alive with news that will keep everyone's guard up until everyone is vaccinated.

I do not envy our government officials.

What I do know is come April 15th, I will secure a vaccination appointment, continue wearing a mask, and continue being thankful for my health.

Take care and be safe.

Posts weekly.

Coronavirus - Sprint To The Finish Line

Coronavirus news keeps getting better and better.

As if to confirm that productions are ramping up across the board, I overheard a producer on one set tell a crew member that Hollywood is going full bore on filming right now. Everyone is busy, he said.

Less than a month ago, President Biden said that the vaccine rollout was going so well that by May 1st, every person over 16 will be eligible to receive the shot. Then Texas said they will move up that date in their state to March 29. As if not to be left too far behind, California moved their date for all adults to begin scheduling their vaccinations to April 15th.

President Biden on March 25th, said that by his 100th day in office over 200 million shots will be put into people's arms - that is over half of all Americans.

I keep hearing multiple people on set and even on the radio state how their entire families have been vaccinated already. The other day someone said they were planning on having a big family bbq on Easter as they have all been vaccinated.

Last week I walked into a taco shop and was asked if my tacos were for here or to go. I automatically said for here. When I sat down to eat, I realize that I had slipped back into my old pre-covid routine of indoor dining. Something I had not done in over a year. It was so odd, yet so familiar.

One common question on set is how much longer will we need coronavirus testing as more people are vaccinated. Testing is a huge expense to the entertainment industry, yet shutdowns are even more costly.

While the pace of vaccinations is rapidly increasing, there are constant reminders that we still have a long ways to go to return to our old normal.

Take care and be safe.

Posts weekly.

Coronavirus Anniversay

It was exactly one year ago today, Friday the 13th of March, that coronavirus changed the world for me.

That morning, 50 background actors had just dressed in our 50's era costumes. The women had had their hair done (hair in curlers since the night before), men clean shaved and hair shellacked. We sat down for breakfast before a long day of filming when a production assistant hurried into holding and said, "That's it. It's wrap. The -- studio has just shut down all of their productions until further notice due to the coronavirus."

I later learned that every other studio had done the same thing that day. Actors, crew, craft services, musicians, and the like were now out of work.

Coronavirus had impacted me prior to this day: my wife's office had all employees working from home since the previous Monday; my son's school had effectively closed two days earlier; and I had been taking daily shopping trips looking for toilet paper. Oh, and the stock market had dropped over 30% over the previous three weeks.

But now, I was out of work. The mayor of Los Angeles effectively shutdown the city. Everything that used to be done indoors like haircuts, shopping, eating at restaurants, going to movies, museums, and working unless it was for an essential business was closed. It seemed like the only businesses a person could leave their house to visit were grocery stores and take out restaurants. We couldn't even visit family members who did not live in our dwelling. In Spain quarantining was so strict that some people used fake dogs so they could leave their house if only for five minutes a day.

Of course there was a valid reason for these precautions.

According to worldmeter.com, as of today, 2,658,861 people have died from coronavirus. In the United States, the number is 546,557. The total number of reported covid-19 cases in the U.S.is 30,043,115, or about 10% of the population.

Wow. Just, wow.

So where are we now one year later?

In a record amount of time, the world has created a vaccine, as our former President dubbed the effort, "Operation Warp Speed." Millions of people within the United States have been vaccinated. Our current President said that every American over 18 years of age will be able to make an appointment for the vaccine beginning May 1, 2021.

Grocery stores are fully stocked. The stock market is back to pre-coronavirus levels, as are gas prices, but thankfully, traffic is still not quite as bad as many people work from home now.

But things will not be back to the old normal any time soon.

Los Angeles still does not allow indoor dining, going to the movies, or exercising in an indoor gym, and my son still has to receive his education through distance learning as public high schools in Los Angeles County are still closed. However, it appears that Los Angeles will be lifting many of these restrictions soon. Cruise ships are still dead in the water with booking dates consistently being pushed back and international travel is still heavily restricted.

Yet, sets are open again, with everyone wearing masks, face shields, and some crew wearing full-on helmets. Coronavirus testing is a way of life whether in the mouth, nose, or what feels like the brain sometimes. My friend asked me the other day how many coronavirus test have I have had. The answer is 32, not including rapid tests on the days that I worked on set.

My wife and friend are still working from home as their companies' physical offices are closed and have told them that it will be at least summer before they can return to the office.

I will say that my family of 4 has definitely grown closer together by talking daily, eating meals together, working out together, watching t.v., etc. Life has slowed down. It has allowed me to focus on my goals and rebalance priorities in life. There is always a light somewhere, even during the darkest times.

It has been a year for the ages. I hope the next one is as well - but crazy happy instead of just plain crazy.

Take care and be safe.

Posts weekly.

Coronavirus - Rising Inflation?

Let me start by saying that I am not a financial advisor, so my thoughts about the coronavirus economy are based solely on my experience.

How is inflation related to covid? As the covid crisis eases with hundreds of thousands of people being vaccinated daily and restrictions on businesses loosening, the U.S. economy appears to be rebounding. Last week's unemployment numbers decreased and employment numbers increased.

With wages increasing and a new stimulus package on the way putting more money into the economy, the demands for goods and services will also theoretically increase. Where there is demand, there are price increases aka inflation.

If wages are increasing at the same rate as prices or slower, then inflation is not so bad. However, inflation has a bad reputation for many reasons. First, usually wages rise at a much slower rate than the prices on goods and services. This means that everyone is negatively affected. Second, wages rise much slower for low wage earners than high wage earners. For example, a 3% raise for a $30,000 a year worker is much different than a 3% raise for a $60,000 a year worker. Third, to combat inflation from getting out of control, governments will try to slow down the economy from overheating by raising interest rates. It encourages saving versus spending. Higher interest rates means that lending becomes more expensive. This means that housing prices will become cheaper, yet to buy a new house, you will have pay a higher interest rate. Business will be slower to expand operations because business loans will be more expensive. Now the hope for all this government induced pain is to crimp demand to a more "reasonable" level, so prices will stabilize or go down. That is the theory.

Someone once told me that the best analyzer of the market is not a business analyst who studied business, but a business analyst who studied psychology.

Last week the government did not raise rates, however the fear that they would raise rates caused the bond market and stock market to move significantly last week. In the case of the stock market, a serious drop.

I hope this post sheds a little light about why the stock market tanked last week with all the good news coming out about our economy rebounding from the coronavirus slump. I know, it seems counterintuitive, but as the coronavirus-era has showed us, life is full of curveballs.

Stay safe everyone.

Posts weekly.

Coronavirus Hope and Disaster

Hope - according to the New York Times the vaccine has been administered to 1.9 million people in the United States as of Saturday.

Disaster - over 330,000 people in the U.S. have died from covid-19. That is more people than the entire city of Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, or St. Louis. It is reported that Los Angeles now has 0 beds available in its ICU and the city has instituted a 10-day quarantine on any travelers visiting or returning to the city.

Coronavirus bomb exploding or its last gasp before being extinguished.

It is as if the virus knows there is a vaccine and is making a last stand to infect as many people as possible on its way out.

I am very fortunate that no one in my family has been infected with the coronavirus. However, there are four people I know along with their family members that have contracted coronavirus within the last two weeks. That is scary close.

Fortunately, I have no condition or situation that would make me high risk for complications. However, that also means I will be last in line for the vaccine unless actors are classified as essential workers. The USA Today said I should be able to receive the vaccine by summer. That seems like forever with infection rates soaring and people around me getting sick. 

Jim Cramer from Mad Money feels there will be a glut of vaccine stocks by the spring as new vaccine manufacturers get their product approved by the FDA. I hope that he is right. First, I do not want to get covid-19. Second, I fear that many countries, states, and employers may require a person to have proof of having been vaccinated in order to travel, go to work, or go to school.

Currently, in Hollywood, everyone has to be tested before they can work on set. The big studios have set up testing facilities for cast and crew and pay them to get tested. However, some smaller productions are asking actors to show proof of a covid-19 test in order to employ you but require you to get tested on your own - unpaid and unreimbursed. I have missed two job opportunities because of this in 2020. 

Hawaii requires a negative coronavirus test in order to visit the state or be subject to a 10-day quarantine.

I foresee a time in the near future where productions will only hire people if they have been vaccinated allowing production to avoid the expense of testing and at the same time ensuring the safety of their sets. I understand this from a business perspective, but it is frustrating for those who can't get the vaccine.

Fortunately, we are not there with yet with vaccine work screenings. Hopefully, Cramer's prediction of a vaccine glut by Spring will come true and everyone who wants to be vaccinated can be without delay.

Take care, be safe, and I hope everyone has a happy and healthy New Year!

Posts Tuesdays

A Coronavirus Thanksgiving

I gathered with family outside my immediate household for Thanksgiving. Even with all the dire warnings, I did it.

There were 7 of us (plus a dog). We all wore masks and ate outside never entering the house except to use the restroom. I even wore gloves when I carved the turkey.

But...

I did see numerous Facebook pictures of family and friends from the holidays (and sometimes large groups of family) not wearing masks.

We all hear about the horror stories of entire families coming down with covid and some people dying, yet people are still gathering and still gathering without masks.

I have one family member who refuses to wear a mask because it does not feel good. I have a friend who says "they" had covid during the summer so "they" can't get it again and are no longer contagious so they don't need to wear a mask. They do have a lingering cough. 

It is hard for me to judge others when I was one of the culprits who visited family. Now I know how Governor Newsome feels for going to a dinner party while telling people to stay home and basically live in isolation.

Fortunately, I had three coronavirus tests last week for work and they all came back negative. My family dodged the proverbial bullet.

I think about single people and the elderly. Is a single person living on their own really not supposed to talk to any friends or family in person for another three to six months until a vaccine is easily accessible? What are they supposed to do at Christmas, New Years, Valentine's Day?

The dating scene must really suck right now. 

And if a person has elderly parents, how many more Thanksgivings and Christmas' will they have with them? What if this could be their last one? Can they really not visit?

These are tough decisions we all must make, balancing the risk versus the reward.

I hope that you and your families are healthy and are able to navigate the holidays safely.

Posts weekly

Coronavirus New Curfew - Ridiculous!

I was annoyed when I heard about the new statewide curfew ordered by Newsome that went into effect this weekend from 10 pm to 5 am.

People said, "John calm down. The only businesses it affects are the bars. It's the young people who don't wear masks and get drunk and are not cautious." When I stood outside my friend's bar in Oregon, the majority of people inside were older men. There are many types of bars

I said, "Watch this is just the beginning."

Lockdowns and curfews create anxiety. Trader Joes had a line half-way around the block this morning. Yes - around the block. My Pavilions had me wait outside for the first time in months. Toilet paper and paper towels were gone.

Today, LA County announced all outside dining will be closed effective Wednesday. Only take-out will be allowed.

Now waiters, hostesses, and bartenders have all just lost their jobs right before the holidays. Merry Christmas.

Many dining establishments have applied for permits and remodeled to provide outdoor dining or to provide more outdoor dining space. I have seen the changes in my neighborhood on my daily walks. Concrete barriers on the street to create dining areas, awnings installed, heat lamps, etc. 

California Adventure just opened its main street this weekend for shopping and dining. So much for those recently hired employees.

Someone asked me, what should we do.

I said:

• First, tell everyone to wear a mask when you are not eating.
• Second, enforce what outdoor dining is. Look at that joke of the French Laundry where Newsome was eating. Three walls enclosed by plastic. That is not outdoor dining. I have seen more and more restaurants close-in their outdoor dining spaces.
• Third, enforce the six-foot distance rule between tables in these outdoor areas. I have seen food areas getting more and more cramped as restaurants try to accommodate more diners.

But do not close all of these businesses down. Enforce the rules, so that the ones who do play by them don't have to suffer. That is how government can keep us safe. Governor, don't go the French Laundry, see the rules being abused, and laugh it all away.

I believe LA County will ban all indoor retail shopping after Black Friday weekend. If they did it this week, there would be a riot, not necessarily by the customers but by all the businesses that just stocked up on instore inventory. Imagine the financial catastrophe if California did shutdown all in-person shopping for the holidays. That would truly put the nail in the coffin of small businesses in the state.

Can't get this at take out

My Saturday in Julian was great. 90% of the people wore masks. Everyone kept their distance.

I do not understand what was wrong with the other 10% not wearing masks. Seriously, by that 10% not wearing their masks, they just cost all Californians the opportunity to eat out or get a drink.

A family member said they were walking outside near a hospital and a nurse walked right by them with their mask in their hand - not on their face. If heads of the CMA are at a large dinner party with the governor and nurses are walking around not wearing masks, perhaps I can see why the 10% don't take our "leaders" and medical establishment seriously.

But, if a small group of people continue to refuse to follow the three basic rules, we will not go back to a relatively normal life for a long time: wear a mask, social distance, and wash hands often. 

Take care and be safe.

Posts weekly.

Coronavirus Vaccine's Impact

On 11/9, Pfizer announced that their covid vaccine was found to be 90% effective in a clinical trail of 44,000 test subjects. 

What does this mean?

The stock market soared 1500 points first thing Monday morning.

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock ended up 25% while Zoom dropped 13%.

I think that Pfizer's news is wonderful, especially considering the massive outbreaks happening in Europe and across the U.S. (The U.S. is tallying over 100,00 new cases a day).  Deadline reported that 3 entertainment productions have closed this week due to positive COVID tests and I know of at least 2 last week. One of these my son was going to work on and I was scheduled to work another. We dodge the bullet on those shows.

The world knows that we sorely need a vaccine, hence the stock market jump.

However, the exuberance party was short lived as Tuesday the market ended up only 262 points and it is down today 108 points. 

There are two issues.

The first is time. If Pfizer passes all the recommended safety tests, it could be June before the vaccine is made widely available to the public. That is a long time from now. 8 months. I just realized, tomorrow 11/13/20 is exactly 8 months since Los Angeles went into lockdown mode - Friday the 13th of March. 

Trivia question: who said, "Beware the Ides of March"? (Close enough to the 15th to make it relevant. Answer below.)

Second, who is going to get vaccinated? Many people I speak to are scared of getting a vaccine whether it is for covid or any other disease. Safety is their main issue. Can the government force people to get vaccinated? Can the government or private businesses deny services like access to public school or Disneyland or a cruise ship to unvaccinated individuals?

In the movie Children Of Men, a vaccine to stop a deadly plague made everyone infertile. That is a chilling worst case scenario. Only in movies right?

But if people don't get vaccinated, how long will the economies of the world economy continue to be at risk of future shutdowns? Months, years? I read that New York is looking at closing its schools again. Los Angeles' have never opened. 

For now, all we can do is social distance, wear a mask, and keep washing those hands. We have to for at least for the next 8 months.

Take care and be safe.

Posts Weekly (Aiming for Tuesdays)

Trivia answer: The soothsayer to Julius Cesar in William Shakespeare's play.