Blue lacecap hydrangea

Thank you for hosting Pinkhairedlady

My blue lacecap hydrangea is in bloom. The bees love it so much they don't even notice I'm close by. 

We have a  new vaccine:  Novavax. It was developed by an all-woman team led by an immigrant from a farming village in India. When she was 4 her dad got TB, never worked again, and the family fell into poverty. Her dad told her to become a doctor and cure TB. She became a doctor and moved to the US and took a job at a company that paid her less than others would have because they let her work on TB. 

It has some advantages. It requires only regular refrigeration, not super-cold refrigeration. It can be made using existing equipment, so it will be easier to make it around the world - like in India. It still requires two shots and that is a huge logistical challenge if we want it used in developing countries, but it is a big improvement. It has low side effects. 

When Biden won the election two cool people here welcomed us back and commented on needing American leadership. I have wanted to have one on one conversations with both of you ever since. Really, I just want to ask you questions and have you do all the talking. Since I can't have that, poor Alsacienne had to fill the role for you. Thank you Alsacienne. 

On a related topic, my new boss' boss' boss' boss is Samantha Power who believes the US can show leadership through effective leadership on Covid, including with vaccines. This is a nice video about USAID, renewable energy, and rural health clinics in Sub-Saharan Africa.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dv1xJaKZEg

I hope you have a lovely evening. 



https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/14/health/covid-vaccine-novavax.html includes why we won't have it in the US for months (we no longer need emergency exemption vaccines)
https://qz.com/1950365/what-is-the-novavax-vaccine-and-how-does-it-work/
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/11/will-small-long-shot-us-company-end-producing-best-coronavirus-vaccine about Dr. Patel