About the Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID graphs as of February 21, 2021.)

The coronavirus pandemic has affected all aspects of our lives, and club social activities are no exception. We continue to monitor the situation for current Florida-specific information and are taking action to adjust to this new reality. 

As social interactions resume, considerate and responsible individuals should maintain practical, yet sensible, social distancing actions as part of the new "normal." This requirement will likely remain for many months.

Virtual Activities

In the meantime, until we resume conventional in-person social events, we continue to host virtual activities and video conferencing to exchange Tesla and club-related information.

These events are a lot of fun and involve sharing Tesla experiences and information in a casual and relaxed atmosphere.

I remain in communication with Tesla Corporate and local Tesla leaders. We continue to work with Tesla to host Virtual events. 

These Virtual Meetups will be open to club members only. If you are not a member and would like to join us for virtual activities, please click on the Join Us link above.

In-Car Activities

We continue to organize In-Car activities. These activities involve meeting for parades, scenic drives, race track events, etc. Participants remain in their cars during most of the events and wear face masks with strict social distancing to maintain safety.

Outdoor Activities

In September 2020, we started Outdoor activities with strict COVID-19 protocols in place. 

When Will We Resume Conventional In-Person Social Activities?

As we mentioned, we resumed "in-person" Outdoor activities in September 2020. These activities require wearing face masks and strict observance of social distancing requirements. There will be no indoor group activities, and group social interactions will be severely limited. Even with vaccinations proceeding, we don't expect to resume indoor activities, with robust coronavirus protocols, until the fourth quarter of this year.

Conventional In-person interactions without some form of COVID-19 measures, realistically, may not happen until 2022. 

During a town hall meeting on CNN on February 16, 2021, President Biden expressed the hope that things might  return to normal by next Christmas. He went on to say: "A year from now, I think that there'll be significantly fewer people having to be socially distanced, having to wear a mask." He added: "I don't want to over promise anything here."

On February 21, 2021, Dr. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease doctor, said he agreed with President Biden that “we’ll be approaching normalcy by the end of this year, and God willing this Christmas will be different than last.” However, Fauci also said that face masks — for many Americans, one of the most visible signs of abnormality — may still be necessary in 2022.

Vaccine News:

National

Summary: (As of February 23, 2021.)

On February 22, 2021, total deaths in the U.S. surpassed 500,000 Americans.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of February 23, 2021,  82,114,370 doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been distributed to the states.  65,032,083 doses were administered. 19,882,544 people, or 6% of the population were fully inoculated with two doses.  (Health experts state that at least 70% of the population is needed to achieve herd immunity.)

It was learned that multiple variants (mutations) of the virus that causes COVID-19 are circulating globally:

• The United Kingdom (U.K.) identified a variant in the fall of 2020. This variant spreads more easily and quickly. In January 2021, experts in the U.K. reported that it may be associated with an increased risk of death, but more studies are needed to confirm this finding. It has since been detected in many countries. It was detected in the U.S. and in Florida at the end of December 2020.

• In South Africa, another variant emerged in early October 2020. It shares some mutations with the U.K. variant.  Cases by this variant were reported in the U.S. in South Carolina at the end of January 2021.

• In Brazil, a variant emerged in early January 2021.  This variant contains a set of additional mutations that may affect its ability to be recognized by antibodies. This means that it may be resistant to existing vaccines. This variant was first detected in the U.S. in Minnesota at the end of January 2021.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Developments

Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna received Emergency Use Authorization and began to distribute their vaccines in December 2020.

The University of Oxford and AstraZeneca was close to asking for FDA approval in December. However, dosage mistakes made that impossible for USA approval even though the United Kingdom has approved this vaccine.  

At a press conference on December 14, 2020, the chief adviser to Operation Warp Speed estimated the company could potentially file for emergency use in February.

On January 29, 2021, Johnson & Johnson announced that after completing its phase 3 testing, its vaccine was 72% effective in the U.S. at preventing moderate to severe COVID-19, 28 days after vaccination. They found that it was 85% effective overall in preventing severe disease and 100% effective against hospitalization and death as of Day 28.

Johnson & Johnson officially asked the FDA for emergency use authorization on February 4, 2021. Vaccine advisers to the FDA will meet on February 26, 2021, to discuss whether to recommend it for emergency use authorization. This would be the first single-dose COVIED-19 shot available in the U.S.

On February 23, 2021, Johnson & Johnson's Dr. Richard Nettles  told the House Committee on Energy & Commerce subcommittee that the plan "is to begin shipping immediately upon emergency use authorization, and deliver enough single-doses by the end of March to enable the vaccination of more than 20 million Americans."

On February 23, 2021, Pfizer and Moderna executives told lawmakers that they project a major increase in vaccine deliveries that will result in 140 million more doses over the next five weeks. They said that they solved manufacturing challenges.

Each vaccine has different storage and transportation requirements. Pfizer has the most stringent temperature storage requirements. Oxford/AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson can be stored in standard refrigerators and have the least strict requirements. Moderna falls in between. Many billions of dosages will have to be produced and distributed. In addition, at least 70% of the United States population will have to agree to take it for adequate herd immunity to be achieved.

On February 19, 2021, Pfizer asked the FDA to relax requirements for their COVID-19 vaccine to be stored at ultra-low temperatures, potentially allowing it to be kept in pharmacy freezers.

Florida Vaccination Plan

Summary (As of February 23, 2021.)

According to the CDC, as of February 23, 2021, 5,483,265 dosages were distributed to Florida, and 4,406,005 vaccinations were given. So, 80% of the number distributed was administered. Of that number, 6.8% of the Florida population has been fully inoculated with two shots.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Developments

On December 23, 2020, Governor DeSantis issued Executive Order 20-315. It prioritizes the first phase of vaccinations as:

Hospital providers, however, also may vaccinate persons who they deem to be extremely vulnerable to COVID-19.

On January 21, 2021, the State Surgeon General issued  Public Health Advisory – Prioritization of Floridians for COVID-19 Vaccinations Given in Florida.  It further requires vaccine recipients to be Florida residents or a health care providers in direct contact with patients.

COVID-19 Home Testing

On December 15, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the first over-the-counter (OTC) fully at-home diagnostic test for COVID-19. The Ellume COVID-19 Home Test.

• This is the first coronavirus test that can run at home without the need for a prescription.
• People as young as 2 years old are cleared to use the test, which takes just 15 to 20 minutes to deliver a result.
• The Ellume COVID-19 Home Test correctly identified 96% of positive samples and 100% of negative samples in individuals with symptoms. In people without symptoms, the test correctly identified 91% of positive samples and 96% of negative samples.
• Bella Zabinofsky, a spokeswoman for the Elume, stated that each kit is expected to cost about $30 or less.
• The Home Test uses an analyzer that connects with a software application on a smartphone to help users perform the test and interpret results.
• In an interview, Ellume chief executive Sean Parsons said supply initially will be limited to 100,000, with plans to increase manufacturing to 1 million by the middle of next year.
• The company will be announcing a partnership with a major retailer — such as Walgreens, CVS, or Walmart — to sell the test and create policies that would prevent hoarding by consumers.
• The test’s price and limited availability may restrict it from frequent use.
  

The following are Graphs and Analysis.

Click here to jump to the Summary.