California issued shelter in-place orders on Tue Mar 17, 2020. I have been logging the highlights and lowlights. The year started slow which sped up during the last week. My intuition told me the first days of 2026 few people were happy.
Fri Jan 2. Take out dinner at Blue Sky Restaurant.
Sat Jan 3. Night time shopping at Safeway.
Mon Jan 5. The Center For Disease Control (CDC) released a new schedule recommending the flu and COVID-19 vaccines administered after consulting a health care provider. Also, all children receive vaccines for 11 diseases instead of 18 diseases. Parents can get their children for all 18 diseases. Insurance covers the costs for all the vaccines shots.
The 11 vaccines are the following: measles, mumps, rubella, polio, pertussis, tetanus, diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzal type B (Hib), HPV, and chicken pox. The flu and COVID-19 vaccines are recommended based on clinical decision making.
Thur Jan 8. Shopped at Costco Business Center in the morning. Shopped at the Great Mall and Lucky in the afternoon.
Sat Jan 17. Picked up my car at S&K Auto Services for repairs.
Tue Jan 20. The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the United States six years ago today. A man returned from Wuhan, China to Washington state.
A quick errand at the post office.
Thur Jan 22. The US withdrew from the World Health Organization (WHO). The US was part of the WHO for 78 years. The withdrawal weakens global responses to new outbreaks. The WHO is the United Nations' health agency. It's mandated to coordinate responses to global health threats, technical assistance to poorer countries, help distribute vaccines, and set health guidelines.
The US was the biggest donor with millions of dollars and specialized health staff. The US pays $111 million a year in member dues on average and $570 million in voluntary contributions on average.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order to withdraw from WHO because of the COVID-19 global pandemic mishandle, no reforms, and the inability to be independent from political influence. Also, no Americans served as the chief executive. The WHO was created in 1948. The US owes the WHO $133 million in financial obligations.
Public health experts said the withdrawal hurt global health initiatives and research to identify new viral threats.
Tue Jan 27. Shopped at Nob Hill first thing in the morning.
Wed Jan 28. The CDC reported people in the US lived longer because death rates returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2024. Life expectancy continued to rise since 2022. The death rate dropped 4% between 2023 and 2024. Life expectancy increased six months to 79 years old.
The ten leading causes of death accounted for 70% of deaths in 2024. Heart disease and cancer were the top two totaling 600,000 people each. COVID-19 dropped out of the top ten. Regardless, tens of thousands die from COVID-19 yearly.
