Two of our neighbors -- three and four houses away -- have Covid. One gentleman in his 90s is on a ventilator in the hospital. A woman in her late 30s remains at home. Both were vaccinated, so I'm not sure what's going on. Or what to believe, really. There's no official government notice, like yellow tape or a sign in front of the houses to let people know Covid is present. Information is shared through word of mouth among neighbors, which surprises me since rules and regulations seem vital here. Maybe officials are unaware or can't keep up, but some kind of signal to the neighbors that Covid is nearby would seem essential for everybody's well-being. Society has opened up and life and traffic are back to their usual chaotic flow. But with so many home deliveries of food and packages, it's no wonder officials are acknowledging that 0 Covid cases won't happen. Vietnam reports 8,000 to 10,000 new cases daily. On Tuesday, Vietnam added 38,000 new cases to its overall total of 1,137,923, which included 28,000 previously unreported cases in Binh Duong, a neighboring province of Ho Chi Minh City and Bien Hoa. I see online that the United States gets anywhere from 50,000 to 111,000 new cases daily, so this virus is far from finished. My wife and I received our two AstraZeneca shots but we still wear masks and wash our hands religiously. I'm assuming our 5-year-old will eventually get a vaccine and we'll need a booster. Bring it on.
* * *
Our son got an influenza vaccine on Wednesday and my daughter, wife and I were vaccinated for the flu. It's like needle park here, sometimes. Joanna is not a fan, vehemently protesting any injection, saying "No thanks, no thanks!" The anticipation was worse than the injection for the flu, and she didn't cry after getting stuck, but she whined a bit before the fact. She cried more when she was stung by some weird bee -- something like a yellowjacket I was told -- a few days ago. I got stung multiple times a while back by one of these guys and I cried a lot more than Joanna. I also swelled quite a bit at the site of the sting. Joanna's skin raised only slightly where she was stung. She was victimized while looking at the nest being built on tree trunk in the park. We went home, put on a band aid, and Joanna shook it off after a short while, returned to the park and continued her creature exploration and play.
* * *
Many schools in Dong Nai are doing online learning to combat Covid, so Joanna and I continue our learning at home. Her attitude improves all the time since I give her total leeway with her drawing and coloring, and she even did some math without any complaints. ... We had a power outage last week and my daughter was upset until I gave her my headlamp, prompting her to say, "I'm putting on my 'octogoggles,' " a funny reference to the Octonauts, an underwater adventure cartoon she watches sometimes. She's doing quite well, all things considered, and there are many things to consider ... We received a receipt and short note from the USCIS regarding our waiver application for my wife to get a visa to come to the United States. Our nonrefundable payment of $930 has been received and they're now reviewing our case. The note also states that if biometrics are required, they'll let us know. That's pretty much it, so we'll just wait for a decision: Either my wife and our family leaves for the U.S. relatively soon, hopefully, or we have some serious thinking to do, especially about our daughter's education and future. ... T-Rex Coffee and Tea, the nearby dinosaur coffee house, is our new hangout. Joanna and I go daily (except Sundays) for an hour or so. Joanna even has a T-Rex Coffee and Tea t-shirt. ... I'm deep into the book Conquistador, which has shaken my faith in mankind with its portrayal of massacres and human sacrifices. On that awkward note, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

Phuong Pham Millman:🧡Subscribe: https://bit.ly/3uXkQGo
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
Persistent Covid way too close; flu shot, bee stings
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment