The J&J Vaccine is not Necessarily the Solution to SA’s Covid Problem

By Blaine McCleland in Current Affairs 0 Comment

With the gatslag of the announcement that the AstraZeneca vaccine does not work against the SA variant, the health department seems to favour the J&J vaccine since its SA trial leg encountered the SA variant which none of the others did.  However, when you unpack the numbers, it is not hopeful as the effective sample size is exceedingly small.  I posit, with good reason, that the effective sample size on which they base their unimpressive efficacy of 57% is 49!

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The Brazilian Variant

By Blaine McCleland in Jokes 0 Comment

South Africa always seems to hit the worldwide headlines for all the wrong reasons.  Normally, the reasons are self-inflicted but South Africa has again become a household name when a South African Variant of the SARS-CoV-2 was discovered and found to be more infectious, if not more lethal.  Luckily, we’ve been upstaged by a new variant, known as the Brazilian Variant, that popped up in Manaus and overwhelmed their medical system within 24 hours.

Saving a person suffering from Covid-19

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs 0 Comment

This is not a scare tactic or crying wolf to get everybody to adhere to the recommendations regarding Covid-19 but hopefully it will have the required salutary effect. Having had a wife who was intubated for six and  half weeks, I can comprehend what these patients are experiencing. For them it is far worse as unlike Janine, these patients are not in a coma. And the ICU was 50% full.

This is a Facebook post pasted from a doctor in the Eastern Cape.

Main picture: An intubated patient

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Coronavirus: History Repeats Itself or Does It?

By Dean McCleland in Health 1 Comment

Normally when there is a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, communities and countries unify and coalesce. By doing so, they all not only contribute to sharing the burden, but they also provide solace to those in mourning. Instead, bereft of leadership in both the national and international arenas, responses have become mired in selfish agendas. This is no more starkly evident than in the United States.

Why is this so?

Main picture: Face masks become a fashion accessories in pandemics.

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The economic effect of Covid-19

By Blaine McCleland in Other Miscellaneous Topics 0 Comment

If one doubts the terrible economic consequences of the disease, then these Nasa photos will jolt you out of your complacency.  They show the amount of Nitrogen Oxide in the atmosphere which is primary due to the usage of motor cars but also any industrial process that burns fuels at high temperatures.


The first photo overs a period in January before lockdown – voluntary as well as involuntary – and the second covers the period after it has taken effect.

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