A new report proves that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is more effective at protecting people from the British, South African, and Californian versions of the SARS COV 2 virus that causes COVID 19 that either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines are.
Studies show the vaccines to be 64% more effective against South African COVID than the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
That news comes as the county is reporting a total of 41 new COVID 19 deaths yesterday in the Whittier Area and a total of 70 COVID 19 deaths in the communities that border the Whittier Area.
The City of Whittier and La Mirada each lost 12 people yesterday to COVID 19. The highest daily loss of life to COVID 19 was in Norwalk which lost 23 of its residents yesterday in the fight against COVID 19. The next highest was Cerritos which lost 16 of its residents.
The high number of deaths in one day is unusual for the Whittier Area which has seen only 2 or 3 deaths on average and 5 deaths at most per community per day. But the county data is indicating that number is up even as the number of new cases remains flat or is increasing at a rather slow pace. One possibility is that the deaths are people who got sick with COVID during the holidays or very shortly thereafter.
Also making news yesterday, East Whittier City School District is moving forward with in person learning starting in March despite protests from teachers who believe that teachers and students should be vaccinated against the SARS COV 2 virus first. The Whittier Daily News is reporting that former East Whittier City School District Superintendent Mary Branca is siding with the teachers and has asked the Board to delay the reopening of in person learning by at least two weeks in order to protect the health of teachers and students. She told the paper that she wanted the district to allow teachers to be vaccinated and that March 1, the day the Board voted as the day the schools in the district would reopen, was too soon.
Rank and file teachers with the district said they did not feel safe returning to the classroom without having first received a vaccine for the SARS COV 2 virus. Only 20% of teachers in the Whittier Area said they were comfortable returning to classrooms without receiving the COVID vaccine.
Parents in the district appear to be evenly split on the matter with half siding with the teachers and half with the school board. Some said they wanted their kids back in school to socialize with other kids but some teachers are cautioning that is unlikely to happen because schools will have to enforce the rule requiring at least 6 feet between each student and that plexiglass barriers will seperate students from each in the classroom. That's in addition to the facemask and gloves mandates the district will have to enforce.
And while this is taking place locally, in DC, some extremists have said they will do everything it takes to try and block the pending COVID relief bill that would provide funds to schools to vaccinate their employees. Yes, we know that there are extremists in every party. Many of the things they are objecting to, except for the minimum wage and the money for in person child care, are actually quite connected to the problems caused by the pandemic.
There is a study making rounds that appears to indicate that people who have received the vaccine are having more and better sex than those who haven't received the vaccine. What does a COVID vaccine have to do with sex?
Here are the top 5 daily new infections for the Whittier Area yesterday February 24 2021:
City of Whittier 14 new cases
Pico Rivera 13 new cases
South Whittier 12 new cases
La Habra 11 new cases
Hacienda Heights 8 new cases
Daily Death Counts for Whittier Area February 24 2021:
City of Whittier 12 new COVID deaths
La Mirada 12 new COVID deaths
Pico Rivera 7 new COVID deaths
South Whittier 4 new COVID deaths
West Whittier/Los Nietos 3 new COVID deaths
Rose HIlls/Spyglass Region 1 new COVID death
Santa Fe Springs 1 new COVID death
Hacienda Heights 1 new COVID death
Total Deaths: 41
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