{"id":5073,"date":"2021-07-17T00:12:40","date_gmt":"2021-07-17T00:12:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/?p=5073"},"modified":"2025-09-17T17:08:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T17:08:13","slug":"deeper-in-drought-but-87-5-vaccinated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/deeper-in-drought-but-87-5-vaccinated\/","title":{"rendered":"Deeper in Drought, But 87.5% Vaccinated"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.drought.gov\/states\/minnesota\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20210525ff\/20210715-drought-gov-states-minnesota-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n(Drought conditions in Minnesota. (July 13, 2021))<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s more to life than drought and disease, but that&#8217;s mostly what I&#8217;ll talk about today.<\/p>\n<p>Partly because discussing what I&#8217;ve seen in headlines would mean more research and effort than I have time for this week. Besides, apart from a Hubble update and the Pope&#8217;s liturgical fine-tuning,<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/deeper-in-drought-but-87-5-vaccinated\/#1\">1<\/a><\/sup> it&#8217;s mostly routine.<\/p>\n<p>Take this sample from yesterday and today, for example:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2021\/07\/16\/covid-deaths-on-the-rise-again-after-weeks-of-decline-cdc-says.html\">Covid deaths on the rise again in the U.S. after weeks of decline, CDC says<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\nRich Mendez, CNN (July 16, 2021)<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/arstechnica.com\/science\/2021\/07\/nasa-successfully-switches-the-hubble-to-backup-hardware\/\">Hubble is back, thanks to backup hardware<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\nJohn Timmer, Ars Technica (July 16, 2021)<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/pope-francis-latin-mass\/2021\/07\/16\/5fe7238e-e638-11eb-88c5-4fd6382c47cb_story.html\">Pope Francis renews restrictions on old Latin Mass, reversing Benedict XVI<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\nChico Harlan, The Washington Post (July 16, 2021)<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/pictureshow\/2021\/07\/16\/1016796637\/germany-belgium-flooding-deaths-climate-change\">Flood Deaths Are Rising In Germany, And Officials Blame Climate Change<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\nNicole Werbeck, NPR (July 16, 2021)<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox9.com\/weather\/drought-intensifying-in-minnesota\">Drought intensifying in Minnesota<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\nCody Matz, FOX 9 Weather (July 15, 2021)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>On the other hand, that &#8220;Covid deaths on the rise&#8230;&#8221; thing reminded me to check the Minnesota Department of Health&#8217;s Situation Update for COVID-19 page.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ll get back to that.<\/p>\n<p>As for the rest \u2014<\/p>\n<h4><a name=\"in\"><\/a>In the News: Science, Religion, Chaos Stalking the Land, and Weather<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/religion-and-science-different-paths-to-reality\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20170306ff\/20170321-Westerlund-2-Hubble-15-066-detail-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" align=\"right\" \/><\/a>I&#8217;m glad that the <strong>Hubble Space Telescope<\/strong> is back in working order.<\/p>\n<p>Looks like scientists will be able to do that Hubble &#8211; James Webb Space Telescope teamup they&#8217;ve been hoping for.<\/p>\n<p>Regarding <strong>Pope Francis and Latin Mass<\/strong>? Maybe we&#8217;re in for yet another &#8216;unprecedented catastrophic crisis of looming doom.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Unless something juicier comes along. Don&#8217;t get me wrong. I take my faith, Mass included, seriously. Religion in news media? Not so much.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Climate change kills Germans<\/strong> as chaos stalks the land? Looks like global warming is 0ut, climate change is back in. And folks in Germany are having a bad month.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Drought intensifies in Minnesota<\/strong>? That&#8217;s much closer to home. But weather in the Upper Midwest isn&#8217;t national news.<\/p>\n<p>Which isn&#8217;t an altogether bad thing.<\/p>\n<p>This way, at least I&#8217;m not wading through screed: blaming either the previous administration or the current president for our excessive sunshine.<\/p>\n<h4><a name=\"covid\"><\/a>COVID-19, Peaks and Minnesota<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.state.mn.us\/diseases\/coronavirus\/situation.html\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20210525ff\/20210716-5deathgraph-mdh-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">(From Minnesota Department of Health, used w\/o permission.)<\/span><br \/>\n(Minnesota COVID-19 deaths. (March 19, 2020-July 11, 2021))<\/p>\n<p>Minnesota&#8217;s Department of Health has been tracking COVID-19 cases since March of 2020, including how many folks died because they&#8217;d caught the disease.<\/p>\n<p>My state&#8217;s pandemic death toll peaked from April to June last year, and again from November to the end of January, 2021, more or less.<\/p>\n<p>Minnesotans were dying from other stuff, too: old age, vehicle accidents, falling into a lake, drug overdose, whatever.<\/p>\n<p>But at the moment, I&#8217;m looking at pandemic-related deaths.<\/p>\n<p>We had a sort-of peak again this year, from April to June. But not much of a one.<\/p>\n<p>Can&#8217;t say I&#8217;m disappointed.<\/p>\n<p>I don&#8217;t see a peak starting now. Not in the MDH statistics.<\/p>\n<h5><a name=\"conspiracy\"><\/a>Conspiracy Theories and Weirdness<\/h5>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/covid-19-cells-viruses-and-mrna-vaccines\/#alleged\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20170721ff\/20170718-355px-Unholy_three-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"'At the Sign of the UNHOLY THREE' cartoon, warning against fluoridated water, polio serum and mental hygiene. And 'communistic world government.' (1955)\" align=\"right\" \/><\/a>That <strong>could<\/strong> mean that a North Carolina-China conspiracy \u2014 in league with the Illuminati, pixies and giant mutant squirrels \u2014 stands ready to oppress us all with fluoridated water and polio serum.<\/p>\n<p>Or COVID-19 vaccine. Or whatever seems scariest at the moment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>And<\/strong> that Minnesota stands alone, the last bastion of truth, justice and ice fishing.<\/p>\n<p>Or maybe folks in my state have generally been more agreeable to getting vaccinated.<\/p>\n<p>Or maybe we&#8217;re just lucky.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, the Minnesota Department of Health <strong>could<\/strong> be in league with shape-shifting space-alien lizard-men.<\/p>\n<p>Space-alien lizard-men who are using the Illuminati, pixies and giant mutant squirrels as a diversion. And that we&#8217;re about to be abducted by space aliens, destined to toil in the nougat mines of Wackadoo III.<\/p>\n<p>And no, I do <strong>not<\/strong> think so. Seriously.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve talked about mRNA vaccines, conspiracy theories and all that before. There&#8217;ll be a &#8216;more of my stuff&#8217; link list later on.<\/p>\n<h5><a name=\"usual\"><\/a>The Usual Suspects and Me<\/h5>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/covid-19-cells-viruses-and-mrna-vaccines\/#alleged\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20201109ff\/20201201-800px-Jenner_and_his_two_colleagues_seeing_off_three_anti-vaccinat_Wellcome_V0011075-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"I. Cruikshank's 1808 political cartoon, supporting Jenner, Dinsdale and Rose in the vaccination controversy.\" align=\"right\" \/><\/a>I&#8217;d prefer living in a world where at least a few of the frightfully faithful <strong>couldn&#8217;t<\/strong> be counted on to panic over new medical tech.<\/p>\n<p>But the usual suspects have played their roles with smallpox and polio vaccines; and are back, denouncing today&#8217;s mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.<\/p>\n<p>As for me, I think COVID-19 is a real disease; that it&#8217;s contagious, unpleasant and occasionally lethal; and that not getting my neighbor sick is a good idea.<\/p>\n<p>Staying healthy myself doesn&#8217;t sound bad, either. Make that not catching COVID-19. I&#8217;m not, strictly speaking, healthy; and that&#8217;s another topic.<\/p>\n<p>Apparently-religious scruples may not be the only issue in play currently. I gather that the newfangled vaccines are occasionally perceived as some sort of political plot. Or something dastardly, at any rate.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m not happy about the way some of today&#8217;s political hotshots have been using a real pandemic to get, keep, or exercise power. But, again, I think the pandemic is real; and that working for the common good makes sense.<\/p>\n<p>So I waited until it was my turn to get vaccinated, and now have had both COVID-19 shots. And that brings me to &#8220;87.5% Vaccinated&#8221; in today&#8217;s title<\/p>\n<h5><a name=\"both\"><\/a>Both Shots for Three, One Left for One<\/h5>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/another-trip-to-the-emergency-room\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20200519ff\/20200916-CentraCareSaukCentre-trim-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"CentraCare, Sauk Centre, Minnesota\" align=\"right\" \/><\/a>My wife and I live with our son and a daughter. I&#8217;ve had both shots. So have my wife and son. The daughter who&#8217;s still under our roof has had her first, but not her second.<\/p>\n<p>My son and I had a good chat when his second shot resulted in a trip to the emergency room. Probably resulted. His symptoms showed up hours after the vaccination and matched possible side effects, so I think the odds favor a cause-effect connection.<\/p>\n<p>I experienced pretty much the same thing, only not nearly as extreme, after my second shot. And my wife&#8217;s going through much the same routine as I did. She&#8217;s currently recovering from her second shot.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s been and is unpleasant. But I still think lowering the odds of catching and spreading a potentially-lethal disease is a good idea.<\/p>\n<h4><a name=\"minnesotas\"><\/a>Minnesota&#8217;s Drought, Very Briefly<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/minnesota-july-2021-drier-and-deeper-in-drought\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20210525ff\/20210708-drought-gov-states-minnesota-329.jpg\" align=\"right\" \/><\/a>I live in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, near the northwest corner of Stearns County.<\/p>\n<p>Back in mid-June, we had moderate drought.<\/p>\n<p>Last week we&#8217;d been promoted to severe drought. Now we&#8217;re at the edge of a severe drought area.<\/p>\n<p>I talked about the drought last week.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/minnesota-july-2021-drier-and-deeper-in-drought\/\">Minnesota, July, 2021: Drier and Deeper in Drought<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\n(July 10, 2021)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As I said then, this isn&#8217;t good for crops, and so isn&#8217;t good for farmers.<\/p>\n<p>And since this part of Minnesota is largely rural, anything that affects crops affects all of us. Directly or indirectly.<\/p>\n<p>On a lighter note, I see that this week&#8217;s Minnesota drought map features a question mark shaped area of severe drought.<\/p>\n<h4><a name=\"north\"><\/a>North Dakota&#8217;s Drought<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.drought.gov\/states\/north-dakota\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20210525ff\/20210716-drought-gov-states-northdakota-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">(From Drought.gov, used w\/o permission.)<\/span><br \/>\n(Drought conditions in North Dakota. (July 13, 2021))<\/p>\n<p>Minnesota&#8217;s drought conditions are bad. North Dakota&#8217;s are worse. There&#8217;s a blotch of exceptional drought in the middle of that state.<\/p>\n<p>They&#8217;re not in the news, not that I&#8217;ve seen, but I figure that wildfires in North Dakota, northern Minnesota and elsewhere account for Sauk Centre&#8217;s haze and less-than-comfortable Air Quality Index readings.<\/p>\n<p>As for &#8216;not in the news?&#8217; I could weave a conspiracy theory involving pixie pyromaniacs and whichever political party I figured my target audience hated and feared most.<\/p>\n<p>But I won&#8217;t. I&#8217;ve lived in this part of the world most of my life. So I realize that wildfires aren&#8217;t news unless they&#8217;re local, Brobdingnagian, or in California. And that&#8217;s yet another topic.<\/p>\n<p>Now, as promised, more of my stuff.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/fourth-of-july-and-both-kinds-at-mass-whee\/\">Fourth of July, and Both Kinds at Mass! Whee!<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\n(July 4, 2021)<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/blue-sky-tan-grass-second-covid-19-shot-and-fever\/\">Blue Sky, Tan Grass, Second COVID-19 Shot and Fever<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\n(June 19, 2021)<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/another-trip-to-the-emergency-room\/\">Another Trip to the Emergency Room<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\n(May 15, 2021)<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/new-covid-19-vaccines-goodish-news-ethical-issues\/\">New COVID-19 Vaccines: Goodish News, Ethical Issues<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\n(December 16, 2020)<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/covid-19-cells-viruses-and-mrna-vaccines\/\">COVID-19, Cells, Viruses and mRNA Vaccines<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\n(December 5, 2020)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><sup><a name=\"1\"><\/a>1<\/sup> These three letters seem to be what inspired this week&#8217;s news media hoo-ha:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Vatican.va\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/content\/francesco\/en\/letters\/2021\/documents\/20210716-lettera-vescovi-liturgia.html\">Letter of the Holy Father to the Bishops of the whole world, that accompanies the Apostolic Letter Motu Proprio &#8216;Traditionis custodes&#8217;<\/a><br \/>\nPope Francis (July 16, 2021)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/content\/francesco\/en\/motu_proprio\/documents\/20210716-motu-proprio-traditionis-custodes.html\">Apostolic Letter issued &#8216;Motu proprio&#8217; by the Supreme Pontiff Francis &#8216;Traditionis custodes&#8217; on the use of the Roman Liturgy prior to the Reform of 1970<\/a><br \/>\nPope Francis (July 16, 2021)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/content\/benedict-xvi\/en\/motu_proprio\/documents\/hf_ben-xvi_motu-proprio_20070707_summorum-pontificum.html\">Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum on the &#8216;Roman liturgy prior to the reform of 1970&#8217;<\/a><br \/>\nPope Benedict XVI (July 7, 2007)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Drought conditions in Minnesota. (July 13, 2021)) There&#8217;s more to life than drought and disease, but that&#8217;s mostly what I&#8217;ll talk about today. Partly because discussing what I&#8217;ve seen in headlines would mean more research and effort than I have &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/deeper-in-drought-but-87-5-vaccinated\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"My experience with COVID-19 vaccinations, and why I had them. Drought in Minnesota gets worse. Plus a little humor and a generous dose of my opinions.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[154,192],"tags":[200,205,8,206,29,194,241,132],"class_list":["post-5073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discursive-detours","category-journal","tag-covid-19","tag-dark-humor","tag-health","tag-humor","tag-medicine","tag-minnesota","tag-upper-midwest","tag-weather"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7Dwtw-1jP","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5073"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5073\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5078,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5073\/revisions\/5078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}